Timbre Space Research Articles

The perceptual interaction between the pitch and timbre of musical sound

The perceptual dependency of the timbre of musical sounds on their fundamental frequency (F0) was examined through two timbral dissimilarity experiments. In Experiment 1, subjects judged timbral dissimilarity between pairs of stimuli produced by 12 musical instruments equal in F0, duration, and loudness. There were three sessions, each at a different F0 (B2, Db3, Bb3). In Experiment 2, the same stimuli were presented in pairs with a constant difference in F0. Two sessions corresponded to two different intervals (B2-Db3 and B2-Bb3). Subjects were instructed to ignore pitch difference. The results are interpreted in terms of an evolution of timbre space as a function of F0. Experiment 1 produced dissimilarity matrices that were similar at different F0s, suggesting that the relative positions of instruments within the timbre space varied little with F0. Experiment 2 produced dissimilarity matrices that were symmetrical, suggesting further that F0-dependent displacements within the timbre space are small. Patterns of dissimilarity were similar with or without an F0 difference, showing that subjects could ignore a constant difference in pitch when making timbral dissimilarity judgments. Results suggest that the perception of timbre is relatively independent of pitch and can be abstracted across differences in F0 under these conditions.

Sound timbre interpolation based on physical modeling

Our goal is to develop sound synthesis technology that users can synthesize arbitrary sound timbre, including musical instrument sounds, natural sounds, and their interpolation/extrapolation on demand. For this purpose, we investigated sound interpolation based on physical modeling. A sound-synthesis model composed of an exciter, a one-dimensional vibrator, and a two-dimensional resonator is used, and smooth timbre conversion by parameter control is examined. Piano and guitar sounds are simulated using this model, and interpolation between piano and guitar tones is investigated. The strategy for parameter control is proposed, and subjective tests were performed to evaluate the algorithm. A multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique is used, and perceptual characteristics are discussed. One of the axes of the timbre space is interpreted as spectral energy distribution, so the spectral centroid is used as a reference to adjust parameters for synthesis. By considering the centroids, smoothly interpolating timbre is achieved. These results suggest the possibility of developing a morphing system using a physical model.

Perspectives on the Contribution of Timbre to Musical Structure

September 01 1999 Perspectives on the Contribution of Timbre to Musical Structure Stephen McAdams Stephen McAdams Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) 1 Place Igor-Stravinsky, Paris F-75004, France, http://www.ircam.frLaboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Université René Descartes, EPHE, 28 rue Serpente, Paris F-75006, France, smc@ircam.fr Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Stephen McAdams Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) 1 Place Igor-Stravinsky, Paris F-75004, France, http://www.ircam.frLaboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Université René Descartes, EPHE, 28 rue Serpente, Paris F-75006, France, smc@ircam.fr Online ISSN: 1531-5169 Print ISSN: 0148-9267 © 1999 Massachusetts Institute of Technology1999 Computer Music Journal (1999) 23 (3): 85–102. https://doi.org/10.1162/014892699559797 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Stephen McAdams; Perspectives on the Contribution of Timbre to Musical Structure. Computer Music Journal 1999; 23 (3): 85–102. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/014892699559797 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsComputer Music Journal Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 1999 Massachusetts Institute of Technology1999 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Multidimensional scaling of musical timbre constrained by physical parameters

A new multidimensional scaling technique [S. Winsberg and G. De Soete, Br. J. Math. Stat. Psychol. 50, 55–72 (1997)] is applied to the analysis of dissimilarity judgments on musical timbres in both group and individual data. This technique constrains the resulting spatial model such that the order of items along a given perceptual dimension preserves their order along a previously established physical dimension. The fit between perceptual and physical dimensions is achieved with spline functions and yields what may be interpreted as the auditory transform of the physical dimension needed to obtain the perceptual one. A reanalysis of ten timbre spaces from the literature shows that this kind of model does not work as well on group data as it does on individual data due to differences in the nature of underlying dimensions and in the form of the auditory transforms for different listeners. Further, an analysis of individual data sheds light on the reasons why higher dimensions in published timbre spaces are so often difficult to interpret.

Comparison of five perceptual timbre spaces of violin tones of different pitches

Violin timbre was studied for five tone pitches (H3, F ♯4, C5, G5, D6). A set of violin tones played on different instruments was recorded in an anechoic room. The recordings were subsequently manipulated to weaken an influence of tone transient parts on the perception. Two pair listening tests in headphones were performed for each pitch: timbre dissimilarity scaling test and spontaneous verbal description of timbre dissimilarities. A perceptual timbre space was constructed from the results of dissimilarity scaling test for each pitch using the multidimensional scaling method. Projections of verbal descriptions into the perceptual spaces enabled their external interpretation. Some perceptual attributes and pairs of attributes of violin timbre were established (‘‘narrow,’’ ‘‘rustle,’’ ‘‘soft’’–‘‘sharp,’’ ‘‘dark’’–‘‘bright,’’ ‘‘clear’’–‘‘blurred’’) based on correlation analysis of word occurrence frequencies on individual tones and on comparison of word projection coordinates in perceptual spaces. Comparing the results for five studied pitches it was possible to pronounce the hypothesis of salient violin timbre dimensions.

Sonological models for timbre characterization*

In the research on timbre, two important variables have to be assigned from the onset: the instruments used to analyze and to model the physical sound, and the techniques employed to provide an efficient and manageable representation of the data. The experimental methodology which results from these choices defines a sonological model; several different psychoacoustical and analytical tools have been employed to this aim in the past. In this paper we will present a series of experiments conducted at the CSC‐University of Padova, which attempted to define an experimental framework for the development of algorithmically defined timbre spaces. Fundamental to our line of research has been the use of analysis methods borrowed from the speech processing community and of data‐representation techniques such as neural networks and statistical tools. The results show several analogies to the classical timbre spaces defined in the literature; this has proved very important in order to explore the qualities of musical timbre in a purely analytical way which does not rely on subjective listeners' ratings.

Comparison of input devices in an ISEE direct timbre manipulation task

The representation and manipulation of sound within multimedia systems is an important and currently under-researched area. The paper gives an overview of the authors' work on the direct manipulation of audio information, and describes a solution based upon the navigation of four-dimensional scaled timbre spaces. Three hardware input devices were experimentally evaluated for use in a timbre space navigation task: the Apple Standard Mouse, Gravis Advanced Mousestick II joystick (absolute and relative) and the Nintendo Power Glove. Results show that the usability of these devices significantly affected the efficacy of the system, and that conventional low-cost, low-dimensional devices provided better performance than the low-cost, multidimensional dataglove.

Caractérisation du timbre des sons complexes.I. Analyse multidimensionnelle

Multidimensional scaling techniques are used to create a geometric representation of the mental organization of perceptual or conceptual relations. In this study they are used to explore the perceptual structure among different timbres («timbre space»). The distance between any two timbres corresponds to their degree of perceptual dissimilarity. 98 listeners, musicians and nonmusicians of diverses nationalities, were asked to judge the degree of dissimilarity between all pairs of a set of 18 synthesized timbres equalized for pitch, loudness, and subjective duration. A multidimensionsal scaling analysis with the program CLASCAL revealed a space including three common dimensions shared by all the timbres as well as a set of weights that indicate the existence of perceptual features specific to certain timbres («specificities»). Two of these dimensions seem to represent qualitatively the «brightness» and «attack quality» of the tones. Classes of listeners were determined by from the correlational structure of the raw dissimilarity matrices and weights are computed for each class. There was no systematic difference between the tive classes associated with the musical training of the subjects

Caractérisation du timbre des sons complexes.II. Analyses acoustiques et quantification psychophysique

A timbre space represents the mental organization of sound events at equal pitch, loudness, and duration. The geometric distance between two timbres corresponds to their degree of perceived dissimilarity. The dimensions of such a three-dimensional space, established by Krumhansl [1] for a set of 21 synthesized sounds, were investigated with respect to their acoustic characteristics. Several acoustical parameters based on the temporal and frequency properties of the sounds were calculated. The high degree of correlation of several parameters with the perceptual axes lend support to previous interpretations of the qualitative character of two perceptual dimensions and their semantic attributes. The perceptual dimensions «brightness» and «rapidity of attack» turn out to be quantitatively explainable by the center of gravity of the sound spectrum (CGS) and the rise time on a logarithmic scale (LTM), respectively. The third dimension, initially called «spectral flux» corresponds partially to the standard deviation of the timeaveraged harmonic amplitudes from a spectral envelope (IRR). A new verbal descritor, «spectral fine structure» seems to fit better with the results of acoustic analyses

ISEE: An Intuitive Sound Editing Environment

This article presents ISEE, an intuitive sound editing environment, as a general sound synthesis model based on expert auditory perception and cognition of musical instruments. It discusses the backgrounds of current synthesizer user interface design and related timbre space research. Of the three principal parameters of sound—pitch, loudness and timbre—ISEE focuses on control of timbre, and affects only the range of pitch and loudness. Timbre is manipulated using four abstract timbre parameters: overtones, brightness, articulation and envelope. These abstract timbre parameters are implemented in different ways for different instruments. They define instrument spaces of which a hierarchy can be built to structure refinement of timbre parameter behavior. An Apple Macintosh implementation of ISEE is described. ISEE has four main advantages over traditional sound synthesis editors. Firstly, it allows musicians to control sound synthesis as they control their musical instrument: by continuous movement, reducing cognitive control load. Secondly, it uses timbre parameters identified by human experience instead of indirect and intricate synthesis model parameters. Thirdly, it integrates a librarian system in the sound synthesis model. Finally, it enables transparent use of several synthesis models at a time.

Throwing, pitching and catching sound: audio windowing models and modes

After surveying the concepts of audio windowing, this paper elaborates taxonomies of three sets of its dimensions—spatial audio ("throwing sound"), timbre ("pitching sound"), and gain ("catching sound")—establishing matrices of variability for each, drawing similes, and citing applications. Two audio windowing systems are examined across these three operations: repositioning, distortion/blending, and gain control (i.e. state transitions in virtual space, timbre space, and volume space). Handy Sound is a purely auditory system with gestural control, while MAW exploits exocentric graphical control. These two systems motivated the development of special user interface features. (Sonic) piggyback-channels are introduced as filtear manifestations of changing cursors, used to track control state. A variable control/response ratio can be used to map a near-field work envelope into perceptual space. Clusters can be used to hierarchically collapse groups of spatial sound objects. WIMP idioms are reinterpreted for audio windowing functions. Reflexive operations are cast an instance of general manipulation when all the modified entities, including an iconification of the user, are projected into an egalitarian control/response system. Other taxonomies include a spectrum of directness of manipulation, and sensitivity to current position crossed with dependency on some target position.

Perception of timbral analogies.

Recent studies have investigated the structure of perceptual relations among musical instrument timbres by multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques. These studies have employed both acoustically produced tones and digitally synthesized imitations and hybrids of acoustic instrument tones. The analyses of dissimilarity ratings for all pairs of a set of tones are usually represented as geometrical structures in a two- or three-dimensional Euclidean space in which the shared 'perceptual' axes are shown to have a qualitative correspondence to acoustic properties such as spectral energy distribution, onset characteristics and degree of change in spectral distribution over the duration of the tone. The present study took as a point of departure a MDS analysis for complex, synthetic tones with the aim of testing whether musician and non-musician listeners used the relations defined by the perceptual space to perform an analogies task of the sort: timbre A is to timbre B as timbre C is to which of two possible timbres, D or D'? A parallelogram model was used to select the D timbres: if the relation between A and B is represented as a vector with both magnitude and direction components, then the appropriate D should form a vector with C having similar magnitude and direction in the timbre space. Aside from conceptual difficulties with the task for both non-musicians and composers, choices for both groups provide support for the parallelogram model indicating a capacity in listeners to perceive abstract relations among the timbres of complex sounds without specific training in such a task.

Timbre Space as a Musical Control Structure

Research on musical timbre typically seeks representations of the perceptual structure inherent in a set of sounds that have implications for expressive control over the sounds in composition and performance. With digital analysis-based sound synthesis and with experiments on tone quality perception, we can obtain representations of sounds that suggest ways to provide low-dimensional control over their perceptually important properties. In this paper, we will describe a system for taking subjective measures of perceptual contrast between sound objects and using this data as input to some computer programs. The computer programs use multidimensional scaling algorithms to generate geometric representations from the input data. In the timbral spaces that result from the scaling programs, the various tones can be represented as points and a good statistical relationship can be sought between the distances in the space and the contrast judgments between the corresponding tones. The spatial representation is given a psychoacoustical interpretation by relating its dimensions to the acoustical properties of the tones. Controls are then applied directly to these properties in synthesis. The control schemes to be described are for additive synthesis and allow for the manipulation of the evolving spectral energy distribution and various temporal features of the tones. Tests of the control schemes have been carried out in musical contexts.* Particular emphasis will be given here to the construction of melodic lines in which the timbre is manipulated on a note-to-note basis. Implications for the design of human control interfaces and of software for real-time digital sound synthesizers will be discussed.