timbre
Voice's sonic fingerprint
Timbre is the distinctive quality or character of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.
It's what makes a violin sound different from a trumpet playing the same note, or one person's voice recognizable from another's.
Musicians and audio engineers speak of timbre when describing whether a sound is warm, bright, harsh, or mellow.
The rich timbre of her voice filled the concert hall.
Highest female voice range
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- altoLower female voice
- bassDeep pitch or fish
falsetto · vibrato · resonance · projection · phonation · head voice · chest voice · breathiness
Amplified oscillation at natural frequency
- overtonesImplicit secondary meanings
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- waveformGraphed oscillation pattern
amplitude · vibration · spectrum · oscillation · fundamental · partials · envelope · decay
Moderately heated, or friendly
- brightEmitting or reflecting light
- darkAbsence of light
- richHaving much of something
- thinSmall in diameter
full · hollow · nasal · breathy · harsh · mellow · smooth · rough
Science of hearing perception
- pitchFrequency of sound
- loudnessPerceived sound intensity
- durationLength of existence
- brightnessDegree of light emitted
warmth · color · tone color · sound quality · auditory · listener · recognition · identification
Tube blown sideways
- oboeTwin-reed wind instrument
- clarinetSingle-reed woodwind instrument
- bassoonLow-pitched double-reed woodwind
- saxophoneReed instrument, brass body
violin · cello · trumpet · piano · guitar · mellow · brassy · reedy
Richness of tone
- bodyPhysical structure, living thing
- depthDistance below surface
- fullnessState of being complete
- richnessState of abundance
brilliance · presence · definition · clarity · transparency · opaqueness · density · weight
soprano
Highest female voice range
bass · falsetto · vibrato · resonance · projection · phonation · head voice · chest voice · breathiness · nasality
resonance
Amplified oscillation at natural frequency
- overtonesImplicit secondary meanings
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- frequencyRate of recurrence
waveform · amplitude · vibration · spectrum · oscillation · fundamental · partials · envelope · decay · attack
warm
Moderately heated, or friendly
thin · full · hollow · nasal · breathy · harsh · mellow · smooth · rough · grainy
psychoacoustics
Science of hearing perception
brightness · warmth · color · tone color · sound quality · auditory · listener · recognition · identification · discrimination
flute
Tube blown sideways
- oboeTwin-reed wind instrument
- clarinetSingle-reed woodwind instrument
- bassoonLow-pitched double-reed woodwind
saxophone · violin · cello · trumpet · piano · guitar · mellow · brassy · reedy · woody
sonority
Richness of tone
richness · brilliance · presence · definition · clarity · transparency · opaqueness · density · weight · lightness
- harmonyharmony, chord, chords, triad, triads
- music cognitionpitch recognition, consonance, dissonance, absolute pitch, perfect pitch
- sound aestheticseuphony, cacophony, assonance, alliteration, consonance
- audiosound, headphones, audio track, volume control, sound recording
- musicmusic, song, songs, singing, singer
- soundsound, sound waves, echoes, acoustics, vibrations
timbretonelessness
Absence of vocal inflection
colorlessness · flatness · neutrality · featurelessness · blankness