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PITCH AND
TIMBRE
Science of Sound
Chapter 7
PITCH
THAT ATTRIBUTE OF AUDITORY SENSATION IN TERMS
OF WHICH SOUNDS MAY BE ORDERED ON A SCALE
EXTENDING FROM LOW TO HIGH. (ANSI)
THE BASIC UNIT IN MOST MUSICAL SCALES IS THE
OCTAVE. IN MUSIC THE OCTAVE IS DIVIDED IN
DIFFERENT WAYS. (IN WESTERN MUSIC IT IS
GENERALLY DIVIDED INTO 12 SEMITONES)
FREQUENCY
DISCRIMINATION
DIFFERENCE
LIMEN OR JUST
NOTICEABLE
DIFFERENCE
(JND)
JND DEPENDS
ON FREQUENCY,
SOUND LEVEL,
and DURATION
HOW DOES
PITCH
DEPEND ON
SIGNAL
ENVELOPE?
VIRTUAL PITCH
VIRTUAL PITCH
DEMO: MASKING SPECTRAL & VIRTUAL PITCH
SEEBECKS SIREN
IS PITCH DETERMINED BY THE FREQUENCY OR THE PERIOD?
THEORIES OF PITCH
PLACE THEORY: VIBRATIONS OF DIFFERENT
FREQUENCIES EXCITE RESONANT AREAS ON THE
BASILAR MEMBRANE.
PERIODICITY THEORY: THE EAR PERFORMS A TIME
ANALYSIS OF THE SOUND.
CLUES FROM BOTH FREQUENCY AND TIME ANALYSES
ARE USED TO DETERMINE PITCH
LOW FREQUENCY: TIME ANALYSIS IS MORE IMPORTANT
HIGH FREQUENCY: FREQUENCY ANALYSIS IS MORE
IMPORTANT
MODERN THEORIES:
OPTIMUM PROCESSOR THEORY
VIRTUAL PITCH THEORY
PATTERN TRANSFORMATION THEORY
REPETITION PITCH
SHEPARDS ILLUSION
ABSOLUTE PITCH
ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND DEFINE THE PITCH
OF A TONE WITHOUT A REFERENCE TONE
A RARE TRAIT
MORE COMMON AMONG SPEAKERS OF TONE
LANGUAGES (SUCH AS CHINESE)
REFERENCE MAY CHANGE WITH TIME IN SOME
PERSONS
PITCH STANDARDS
EARLY ORGANS HAD As
TUNED FROM 374 TO 567 Hz
HANDELS TUNING FORK
VIBRATED AT 422.5 Hz
1859: A 435 Hz ADOPTED BY
FRENCH GOVERNMENT
C 256 (POWERS OF TWO)
WHICH RESULTS IN A 431 Hz
1939: A 440 Hz INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD ADOPTED
TIMBRE
(A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ATTRIBUTE OF SOUND)
DEFINITION (ANSI): Timbre is that attribute of auditory
sensation in terms of which a listener can judge two
soundshaving the same loudness and pitch as
dissimilar.
PROPOSED TIMBRE SCALES
Dull______|______Sharp
Dull______|______Brilliant
Compact______|______Scattered
Cold______|______Warm
Full______|______Empty
Pure______|______Rich
Colorful______|______Colorless
(Pratt and Doak, 1976)
(von Bismark, 1974)
TIMBRE PERCEPTION
IT IS LIKELY THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DIMENSIONS REQUIRED TO
CHARACTERIZE TIMBRE MIGHT APPROACH THE NUMBER OF CRITICAL
BANDS (ABOUT 37). FOR MOST SOUNDS, HOWEVER, FEWER
DIMENSIONS WOULD SUFFICE.
SCHOUTEN (1968) SUGGESTED THAT TIMBRE RECOGNITION MAY DEPEND
ON FACTORS SUCH AS:
WHETHER THE SOUND IS PERIODIC
WHETHER THE WAVEFORM ENVELOPE IS CONSTANT OR FLUCTUATES
WHETHER ANY ASPECT OF SOUND (e.g. SPECTRUM) IS CHANGING
WHAT THE PRECEDING AND FOLLOWING SOUNDS ARE LIKE.
PATTERSON (1995) FOUND THAT RAMPED AND DAMPED SOUNDS HAD
DIFFERENT TIMBRES, POINTING OUT THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF
TEMPORAL ENVELOPE IN TIMBRE PERCEPTION.
SPECTRAL
(FOURIER)
ANALYSIS
TRISTIMULUS DIAGRAMS
TIMBRE CAN BE REPRESENTED ON A TRISTIMULUS DIAGRAM SIMILAR
TO THAT USED RO REPRESENT COLOR. THREE DIMENTIONS x, y, and z
ARE SELECTED, SUCH THAT x + y = z.
VIBRATO
VIBRATO IS DEFINED BY THE NATIONAL STANDARDS
INSTITUTE AS A FAMILY OF TONAL EFFECTS IN MUSIC
THAT DEPEND ON PERIODIC VARIATIONS OF ONE OR
MORE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE SOUND WAVE.
FREQUENCY VIBRATO, AMPLITUDE VIBRATO, AND
PHASE VI BRATO ARE WIDELY USED IN MUSICAL
PERFORMANCE. IN PRACTICE, IT IS UNUSUAL TO
HAVE FREQUENCY VIBRATO (FM) WITHOUT AMPLITUDE
VIBRATO (AM).
THE RATE AND DEPTH OF VIBRATO ARE IMPORTANT
CONTRIBUTORS TO TIMBRE. PERFORMERS TYPICALLY
SELECT A VIBRATO RATE OF ABOUT 7 Hz.
TONE OR CHORD?
ERICKSON (1975) POINTS OUT
THAT A COMPLEX SOUND CAN
BE HEARD AS A CHORD; A
SINGLE TONE (WITH TIMBRE);
OR AS AN UNPITCHED SOUND.
TRANSFORMATION FROM A
CHORD TO A SOUND, FOR
EXAMPLE, IS ILLUSTRATED BY
THE MUSIC OF EDGAR VARESE.