2.1 Theory Paragraph 2 .

1 - Fixed spectrum add itive synthesis

05
a.
E
m o

·05

·1

+
0 .5
a.
E o
m
-0 .5

-1

=
0.5
a. .
~ 0

•0.5

-1

0 2 3 5 6 9 10

time in msec -
Fig .2.4 A graphical representation of a sum of sine waves

As you can easily verify by inspection, instanta neous ampl itudes for wave C are
obtained by summing the instantan eous amp litudes of the individual waves A
and B. These ampl itude values are summed point -by-po int, taking their sign,
positive or negat ive, into consideration. Whenever th e amplitudes of A and B
are both positive or both negative, the absolute value of the ampl it ude of C
wi ll be larger th an that of eith er of th e component, resulting in constructive
interference , such as displayed by the fol lowing values:

A= -0 .3
B = -0.2
C = -0 .5

Whenever the ampl itudes of A and B differ in their signs, one being positive and
the other negat ive, the absolute value of their sum C w ill be less than either
one or both components, resulting in destructive interference , as shown in
the fol lowing example:

A= 0.3
B = -0.1
C = 0.2

"The largest part. indeed nearly the enti rety, of sounds that we hear in the real
world are not pure sounds, but rather, complex sounds; sounds that can be
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