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Definition: timbre from The Penguin Dictionary of Physics

The distinguishing quality, other than pitch or intensity, of a note produced by a musical instrument, voice, etc. The QUALITY is generally stated to be dependent upon the relative amplitude and number of the PARTIALS, the resulting waveform being determined by the SUPERPOSITION of the component partials.

timbre

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In music, the tone colour, or quality of tone, of a particular sound . Different instruments playing a note at the same pitch have different sound qualities, and it is the timbre that enables the listener to distinguish the sound of, for example, a trumpet from that of a violin. The tone quality of a sound depends on several things, including its waveform, the strength of its harmonics , and its attack and decay – the ‘shape’ of the sound. The study of the elements of sound quality is part of the science of acoustics . Sound production The characteristic tone quality of any instrument or voice is dependent on a number of factors: the various means of producing sound – for example, vibrating strings or reeds; their methods of excitation – such as plucking, bowing, or blowing; and means of amplification – either mechanical, such as a soundboard, or electrical. These differences have their effect on the waveform, the mixture of harmonics , and the envelope shape of the sound. Analysis of…
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Full text Article TIMBRE

From The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
tone color, sound color (Ger. Klangfarbe) . There is no generally accepted term. Timbre derives from low Lat., then Fr. terms for a drum, a bell, the sound of a bell. Timbre now denotes the sonorous quality of a sound , as opposed to its length (duration) or loudness or pitch or accent. (Note that…
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Full text Article timbre

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In music, the tone colour, or quality of tone, of a particular sound . Different instruments playing a note at the same pitch have different sound qualities, and it is the timbre that enables the listener to distinguish the sound of, for example, a trumpet from that of a violin. The tone quality of…
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Full text Article timbre

From The Macquarie Dictionary
Acoustics Phonetics that characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness, from which its source or manner of production can be inferred. The saxophone and the clarinet have different timbres, and so do the vowels of bait and boat . Timbre depends on the relative strengths of the…
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Full text Article timbre

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
A mixture of three pure tones (top) yields a...
Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or other sound source from another. Timbre largely results from a characteristic combination of overtone s produced by different instruments. This distinctive combination (which usually varies across the range of pitches) is what principally…
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Full text Article timbre

From The New Penguin Dictionary of Music
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Full text Article timbre

From A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms
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Full text Article timbral

From Collins English Dictionary
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Full text Article timbre

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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Full text Article Timbre [Fr.]

From The Harvard Dictionary of Music
1. Tone color. 2. A melody, especially an anonymous or popular one, that is used for different texts. The term, which came into use in the late 18th century, has been employed in connection with the sequences of Adam of St. Victor and some other liturgical chant, the noël of the 16th century and…
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Full text Article timbre

From Collins English Dictionary
| 54 words
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