What is a square wave in music?
A square wave is a type of sound made by electronic instruments and computers. It gets its name because when you look at it on a screen that shows sound waves, it looks like a series of perfect squares going up and down.
Square waves make a distinct buzzing sound you might recognize from old video games, especially from the Nintendo and Atari days. The sound is thick and rich, sort of harsh but interesting. Musicians often say square waves sound “fat” or “heavy.”
The sound happens because square waves jump instantly between two extremes – fully on and fully off – with no in-between states. This quick switching creates many harmonics, with extra frequencies playing along with the main note. These harmonics give square waves their special character.
Many famous electronic instruments use square waves. The Minimoog synthesizer from the 1970s could make square waves, and bands used it to create new kinds of music. Today, musicians still use square waves in electronic music, hip-hop, etc.
Square waves are different from other common sound waves. While sine waves sound smooth and pure and sawtooth waves sound sharp and bright, square waves have their unique buzzy quality. This makes them perfect for certain parts of songs, like bass lines or lead melodies that need to cut through the mix.
Making square waves is pretty simple with modern technology. Most music software and synthesizers have buttons or controls for creating square waves. Musicians can then change how the square wave sounds by adjusting things like:
- How long each note lasts
- How quickly the sound fades away
- How much the wave shape changes over time