Missing fundamental

The term "missing fundamental" refers to a phenomenon in auditory perception where the brain perceives a fundamental frequency even when it is not physically present in the sound wave. This occurs when the harmonic frequencies (overtones) are played, and the fundamental frequency is absent. For instance, if a musical note has a fundamental frequency of 100 Hz, it will produce overtones at frequency multiples of that fundamental (like 200 Hz, 300 Hz, etc.).