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A sound can be split into two principal components:
the envelope, and the fine structure.
These two parts play fundamentally different roles in the perception of music and speech.
Consider the following combination of two speech sounds.
This sound "Kathy has seven dark spoons"
is the fine structure of one sound,
and sound "Peter gives four large tables"
is the envelope of another sound.
When combined, they make this sound.
Notice how the envelope is more prominent than the fine structure.
Now, listen to the following combination of two musical sounds.
The fine structure of one sound
and the envelope of another sound
are combined to create this composite sound.
With music, the fine structure becomes more prominent than the envelope.
Fine structure and the envelope of sounds are both important to the complete comprehension of sound.
These example sounds demonstrate how the envelope is more prominent with sounds of speech,
and how the fine structure is more prominent in musical sounds.