Timbre

Timbre is a perceptual attribute of complex sounds, such as the human voice, which is sometimes referred to generically as the tone or quality of the sound. In musical terms, timbre is also referred to as tone color. As a perceptual entity, timbre is dependent on an interaction between the acoustic signal created by the speaker or instrument and the perceptual system of the listener. The American National Standards Institute defines it as “that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which a listener can judge that two sounds similarly presented and having the same loudness and pitch are dissimilar pp. 142.” In other words, timbre is the perceptual attribute of sounds that allows one to identify a voice as belonging to a specific person ...