#bc in humans our soundwaves change bc of thr throat and oral cavities cause different resonances and harmonics and formants and such

I'm not a cosmere theories freak but I do have one theory I'm very passionate about which is that the pure tones of Roshar sound like sine wave synths! Let me explain :) I am taking "pure" to mean "consisting of only one note (and no overtones)", which is basically the definition of a sine wave. A sine wave is the representation of a single frequency with no harmonics and is considered an acoustically pure tone. Sine waves don't occur naturally - real world sounds always have overtones, in varying quantities. We can synthesize sine waves, however, and they sound like this (I played it in different pitches so you can get an idea of the timbre):

Here's a visual representation of a sine wave:

So this is what I imagine it sounds like when Dalinar opens a perpendicularity, or when singers hear pure notes in highstorms. And because the sound of a sine wave is so unnatural, it would really stand out and feel otherworldly on a planet that doesn't have modern technology - and I feel like that fits the description.

We also know that it's possible to use tuning forks to play the three pure tones of roshar and pull the matching types of light out of gemstones. While acoustic instruments can't produce a truly pure note (aka a sine audio wave), tuning forks come pretty close. They initially produce high overtones, but those fade out quickly, and then the forks keep resonating with a pure tone. It makes sense that tuning forks are the closest Rosharan humans can get to synthesizing a sine wave!

There's also the fact that Raboniel can sing the pure notes and get the lights to respond, while Navani can't. Is it just because Raboniel's pitch is more accurate, or do singers have an physiological ability to produce notes with less overtones? This is really interesting to me...

And one more fun thing to consider. You know what other instrument comes pretty close to producing a pure tone? The flute! Hoid gave Kaladin a flute... idk if it actually has any reasoning behind it but I really hope it does 😂 imagine how cool it will be if it will be used for musical magic system stuff

#ooooo #ty phonetics course for giving me a basic understanding of soundwaves and stuff #anyway I've always hc'd that gemhearts are able to resonate and pure tones of roshar #bc of their Connection to the land #and rather than specifically 'hearing' the tones #singers and such can Feel them #bc their gemhearts can capture the tones AND produce them #thats why when they talk they can talk to different Rhythms #bc their gemhearts resonate with what they attune themselves too #and thats why Venli could 'hear'/feel timbre in her gemheart #I have NO idea how the soundwaves can escape their bodies without being changed tho #bc in humans our soundwaves change bc of thr throat and oral cavities cause different resonances and harmonics and formants and such #anyway. humans dont have a gemheart to hear the tones or rhythms of roshar #and they dont have a gemheart to create those frequencies either #bc they're not native to roshar #cosmere #stormlight #the stormlight archive