In violin playing, when a player plays a harmonic, (which involves lightly placing the finger on the string, instead of applying normal, complete pressure), the note that the instrument produces is four, two, or one octave higher, or is the same note, as the note normally associated with that location on the fingerboard. The lower the original note, the higher the harmonic will be. This is useful for players and composers, because it allows violinist to produce higher notes with a lot of ease. Composers can implement more interesting scales and chord progressions. Here’s a demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRWCH3zv5Ag
This physical process seems a little counterintuitive based on some of the information from today’s lecture. Placing a finger on the string shortens the string, which raises the pitch. The shorter the string leads to a smaller wavelength, which produces the higher pitch. Yet for harmonics, the longer the string leads to the higher harmonic pitch.
In order to create this pitch, a violinist must lightly place their finger in the perfect location. Then they must strongly pull the bow across the string. The physical act of barely touching the string, but applying the same force to the string with the bow, produces overtones. Every note has predetermined overtones that are engaged in this process. Students at the University of Illinois produced a very interesting lab report on the overtones and harmonics of a variety of different musical instruments. Most string instruments use this process to create the higher pitched sounds.