Identification and qualification of instrumental sound sources: Elaboration

Abstract

From multitrack anechoic recordings of orchestral, or other musical instruments, a quantitative analysis of musical instruments’ power and directivity was conducted [Semidor and Couthon, ICA98]. A qualitative study is now proposed to complete the knowledge about the perceived sound of these same instruments by listeners. The following elements are examined: (1) the ‘‘recognizing threshold’’ of instrumental sources, from a directivity point of view. Particularly, studying the differentiation difference between sources of the same family, or sources with a pronounced directivity and others. (2) The subjective ‘‘qualification’’ of sources in function of directivity, that is the influence of the quantity of information on directivity, on the qualification of the source. (3) Correlation of those results with the quantitative study conducted before. Are the main objective parameters noticed in a subjective point of view? This study is conducted in a first approach in laboratory conditions. Its main applications are sound recording, sound reinforcement, measurement, and simulation in room acoustics. It is well known that taking into account sound sources’ characteristics permits the improvement of a room’s design in order to increase the audience comfort.