 The confusion by which the term has been used to denote a chord (instead of a complex sound) probably arises with Rameau's theory of "Résonance".Rameau had misunderstood Joseph Sauveur's experiments, intended to demonstrate the existence of overtones, and believed that the harmonic partials arose from a resonance within the fundamental note, to which he gave the name "corps sonore", often translated as "Klang" in German.As Henry Klumpenhouwer writes,

"Klang", he adds,

"Klang", therefore, should in most cases better be understood as "the fundamental sound", possibly "the sound of nature".