{"id":26073,"date":"2024-08-06T11:17:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=26073"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:13:37","slug":"what-is-a-spectrogram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a spectrogram?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:15px\" class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Illustration:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/simonenoronha.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Simone Noronha (opens in a new tab)\"><strong>Simone Noronha<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">They may look intimidating at first, but spectrograms are a fun and useful way to visualize sounds and understand just what they\u2019re made of.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These visual graphs break down an audio signal into all of its individual frequencies, from low, booming sub-bass to high-frequency chirps and clicks. Being able to \u201csee\u201d sound in this way makes the spectrogram an incredibly valuable tool for tasks like <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/an-introduction-to-mixing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mixing,<\/a> mastering, editing, and even touching up or repairing audio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this introductory guide, we go over what a spectrogram is, how to analyze them, and why they&#8217;re valuable for anyone who&#8217;s looking to analyze audio on a deeper level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feel free to use the table of contents below to easily navigate to a specific section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you&#8217;ll learn:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#WhatIsASpectogram\"><strong>What is a spectrogram?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#HowToRead\"><strong>How to read a spectrogram<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Examples\"><strong>What a spectrogram shows<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"WhatIsASpectogram\">What is a spectrogram?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>spectrogram<\/strong> is a visualization of the spectrum of frequencies of a signal as it varies with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chances are, if you\u2019ve opened up a DAW, you\u2019ve probably already seen real-time audio represented as a frequency \u201cspectrum\u201d before\u2014perhaps in Ableton Live\u2019s Spectrum plugin or in the background of many <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-eq-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an EQ plugin.<\/a> You\u2019ll notice these graphs are constantly changing because they\u2019re only showing a \u201csnapshot\u201d of frequencies in that exact moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, a spectrogram takes things one step further and shows <em>how that frequency content evolves over time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"HowToRead\">How to read a spectrogram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do we read a spectrogram? Typically, spectrograms are represented as graphs where one axis (usually the x-axis) represents time, the other axis (usually the y-axis) represents frequency, and the color or intensity of the markings indicate the amplitude of a particular frequency at that point in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These images\u2014which we&#8217;ll examine below\u2014can be created in a few different ways, including sending the audio through a set of band-pass filters, or using a mathematical function called a <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/frequency-domain-introduction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Fourier transform.<\/strong><\/a> These processes aim to split the incoming signal into a bunch of individual frequency bands and show us the underlying DNA of that sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Examples\">What a spectrogram shows: Looking at some examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A picture is worth a thousand words\u2014let\u2019s compare some spectrograms of different instruments and see what they tell us about each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. A bass guitar riff<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"769\" height=\"743\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1.png\" alt=\"spectrogram-example-bass-guitar-riff\" class=\"wp-image-26080 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 769px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 769\/743;width:577px;height:557px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1.png 769w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-400x386.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-264x255.png 264w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Reading from left to right (remember, the x-axis is <em>time<\/em>), each column of horizontal markings represents a single note in the pattern. Why are there multiple lines stacked on top of each other, you might ask? That\u2019s because many sources of sound don\u2019t just produce a single frequency\u2014instead, they produce many other higher frequencies commonly called <strong>overtones<\/strong> or <strong>harmonics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-blog-splice wp-block-embed-blog-splice\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"X2S4VIeEgY\"><a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-are-harmonics\/\">What are harmonics? Exploring the fabric of music<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;What are harmonics? Exploring the fabric of music&#8221; &#8212; Blog | Splice\" src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-are-harmonics\/embed\/#?secret=xwaChWJn3J#?secret=X2S4VIeEgY\" data-secret=\"X2S4VIeEgY\" width=\"370\" height=\"209\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that there isn\u2019t much going on above 300 Hz, given that bass guitars primarily put out low frequencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. A violin part<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2-1024x683.png\" alt=\"spectrogram-example-violin\" class=\"wp-image-26081 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/683;width:768px;height:512px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2-400x267.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2-355x237.png 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image2.png 1100w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Similar to the bass guitar, we\u2019ve got individual notes left-to-right that each have their own sets of harmonics. However, unlike the bass guitar, most of the content is in the upper range of audible sound (1 kHz and above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also see how the root frequency of each note (also called the <strong>fundamental frequency<\/strong>) is the most prominent due its bright color, while the higher overtones gradually decrease in their intensity. It\u2019s these collections of frequencies that make up a violin\u2019s unmistakable sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. A breakbeat drum pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4-1024x678.png\" alt=\"drum-breakbeat-example\" class=\"wp-image-26083 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/678;width:768px;height:509px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4-1024x678.png 1024w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4-400x265.png 400w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4-355x235.png 355w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image4.png 1105w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s switch things up with something non-harmonic like a drum beat\u2014you\u2019ll immediately notice it\u2019s quite a bit different than the previous spectrograms. We have much shorter, percussive hits illustrated by the many vertical lines, and these hits also don\u2019t share the distinct overtones of melodic instruments like the violin or bass guitar. This is because the energy of percussive sounds like drums is more spread out over the entire frequency spectrum (y-axis), but usually restricted to shorter intervals of time (x-axis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. White noise<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"469\" height=\"749\" data-src=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image3.png\" alt=\"white-noise-example\" class=\"wp-image-26082 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image3.png 469w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image3-250x400.png 250w, https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image3-160x255.png 160w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 469px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 469\/749;\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s finish things off with some good old <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/difference-bewteen-noise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">white noise,<\/a> which spreads its frequencies as equally as possible over the whole spectrum. I like to think of white noise like white light\u2014it\u2019s a combination of every color \/ frequency that results in a steady, static sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Spectrograms are widely used in a number of fields including seismology, linguistics, sonar \/ radar, and speech processing to analyze both audio and other types of signals. Music software like <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plugins\/39137217-rx-11-standard-au-by-izotope\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iZotope\u2019s RX<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.steinberg.net\/wavelab\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steinberg\u2019s WaveLab<\/a> employ spectrogram visualizations to help users achieve better mixdowns and even perform advanced audio restoration on low-quality recordings to remove unwanted noises or artifacts. That\u2019s part of the magic of working in <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/frequency-domain-introduction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the frequency domain<\/a>\u2014we can uncover so many more details about a sound that we wouldn&#8217;t have been able to access as easily with other means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have any questions about spectrograms? What other topics in audio technology would you like to see us break down next? Start a conversation with us and an ever-growing community of music creators via <a href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/features\/community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Splice Discord.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Try experimenting with spectrograms with iZotope&#8217;s RX for free, and then rent-to-own the plugin until you own it outright:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/plugins\/39137217-rx-11-standard-au-by-izotope\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try RX for free<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about what a spectrogram is, how to read one, and the unique findings it can uncover about your audio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":26087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1696,1702],"tags":[1667,1721,1641,159,333,1712,1473,1726],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is a Spectrogram? 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A 101 Guide to Reading Spectrograms - Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about what a spectrogram is, how to read spectrograms, and the unique findings it can uncover about your audio.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-06T15:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T17:13:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0423-What-is-a-spectrogram_ILO-BlogPost.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matteo Malinverno\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matteo Malinverno\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matteo Malinverno\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/43123e87ce32298439fa5bbdd471e89d\"},\"headline\":\"What is a spectrogram?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-06T15:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T17:13:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/\"},\"wordCount\":872,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0423-What-is-a-spectrogram_ILO-BlogPost.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"audio repair\",\"audio technology\",\"intermediate\",\"izotope\",\"plugins\",\"psychoacoustics\",\"rent-to-own\",\"rx\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Tips &amp; Tutorials\",\"Tools\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/what-is-a-spectrogram\/\",\"name\":\"What is a Spectrogram? 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