Fourier analysis (Using Audacity)

[Gameasy]

Homework Statement

I'm doing a project for my school, deconstructing musical instruments into their various sinusoidal waves. I understand the outlying theory behind Fourier analysis and found what seems like a simple way to do it in the newest version of Audacity.
Go to "Analyze", then "Plot spectrum". In the window it opens, you need to change the number given to the biggest number available.
This gives a close approximation of the frequencies the the function is made of (1 or 2 Hz off).
The issue is that I can't find a way to correlate the amplitude given for the frequencies with the amplitude I used as an input to make the original function. This happens no matter how I get the answer. Any idea what's happening?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

See above

 

[mighty2000]

for my attempt at a solution.

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your project with us. It sounds like you have a good understanding of Fourier analysis and are using a helpful tool in Audacity.

To address your issue with correlating the amplitude given for the frequencies with the amplitude used as an input, it may be helpful to understand how Audacity is calculating the amplitude for each frequency. Audacity uses the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm to calculate the spectrum of a signal. This algorithm converts a time-domain signal into its frequency-domain representation, and the amplitude for each frequency is calculated based on the magnitude of the corresponding frequency component in the signal.

So in order to correlate the amplitude given by Audacity with the amplitude used as an input, you will need to have a way to measure the amplitude of the original signal at each frequency. This can be done using a spectrum analyzer or other similar tools. Once you have the amplitude at each frequency, you can compare it with the amplitude given by Audacity and see if there are any discrepancies.

It is also important to note that there may be some differences in the amplitudes due to factors such as noise in the signal or limitations in the recording equipment. However, if there are significant differences, it may be worth looking into the settings and parameters used in Audacity to make sure they are accurately representing the original signal.

I hope this helps and wish you the best of luck with your project! Keep up the great work in exploring the world of sound and music through Fourier analysis.