I guess they could be using "partials": >Any complex tone "can be described as a combination of many simple periodic waves (i.e., sine waves) or partials, each

I guess they could be using "partials": >Any complex tone "can be described as a combination of many simple periodic waves (i.e., sine waves) or partials, each with its own frequency of vibration, amplitude, and phase." A partial is any of the sine waves by which a complex tone is described. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_series_%28music%29#Partial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_series_%28music%29#Par...