In most instruments the relative harmonic content is not constant. It
depends on how loud the instrument is played, and it depends on where you
are in the frequency range (how high or low on the scale). On a stringed
instrument, if you can vary the position where you pluck or hit or bow the
string, that makes a big difference also. So a tabulation of harmonic
content for various instruments isn't going to be very meaningful.
Also, the envelope of the sound makes a big difference. If you time-invert
music played on a piano (play it backwards) most people will never identify
it as a piano even though the harmonic content should be the same whether
played frontwards or backwards. The attack and decay profiles, when
swapped, make it sound like a completely different instrument.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton University
1 University Drive
Bluffton, OH 45817
419.358.3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu