The content of “timbre”

Abstract

The definition of timbre has been established by standards such as the American National Standards. According to the results of factor analytical research on sound color, the content of sound color can be well expressed by such descriptive adjectives as soft, rich, clear, etc. This aspect of sound color can be called the “impression expressed by a descriptive adjective of sound color.” Furthermore, there exists another aspect of sound that identifies the sound source such as a piano, violin, etc. Generally speaking, sound impressions are considered to occur in the following order: (1) identification of the sound source, followed by recognition of detailed sound properties such as (2) the impression expressed by the descriptive adjective of the sound color, (3) loudness, (4) pitch, and (5) sound duration. The two aspects of sound, (1) and (2), are usually recognized as sound color or timbre. Accordingly, it is desirable that the content of timbre should be understood more widely as mentioned above.

Contributions of MIR to Soundscape Ecology. Part 2: Spectral timbral analysis for discriminating soundscape components

“…Musicians have recognized "timbre" as a significant property of a sound signal influenced by composition (e.g., wood versus metal), shape (e.g., bell size), and sound production mechanism (e.g., string versus reed). The Acoustical Society of America defines timbre as the "attribute of auditory sensation which enables a listener to judge that two non-identical sounds, similarly presented and having the same loudness and pitch, are dissimilar" (Kitamura 1988). Recently, a group of computational musicologists has developed approaches that quantify timbral qualities, for instance using spectral features, to classify musical instruments (Peeters, Giordano, Susini, Misdariis, & McAdams, 2011).…”