Is the bandwidth for timbre invariance only one octave?
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kenneth M. Steele Ph.D., Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Abstract: Timbre invariance refers to the ability to determine
whether two notes at different pitches were played or
sung by the same instrument or voice. Handel and
Erickson (2001) reported that nonmusician listeners
heard pairs of notes as coming uniformly from different
instruments when the pitches were separated by an
octave or more; they concluded that the bandwidth of
timbre invariance was only one octave. Here we replicate
that study with methodological refinements and
include musicians as well as nonmusicians. We presented
listeners with pairs of notes from two instruments
(horn and bassoon) spanning a 2.5 octave range,
and listeners judged whether two notes were the
same pitch and produced by the same instrument.
Nonmusicians replicated Handel and Erickson’s result
of a decline in timbre invariance beyond 1.0 octave,
whereas musicians’ performance declined less—to
about 80% correct at 2.5 octave. Pitch judgments did
not vary across the range and were more accurate
for musicians than for nonmusicians. The difference
between musicians and nonmusicians in timbre judgments
suggests caution in stating a range for the operation
of timbre invariance.
Is the bandwidth for timbre invariance only one octave?
PDF (Portable Document Format)
839 KB
Created on 2/7/2013
Views: 1767
Additional Information
- Publication
- Steele, K. M., & Williams, A. K. (2006). Is the bandwidth for timbre invariance only one octave? Music Perception, 23(3): 215-220. Published by the University of California Press (ISSN: 0730-7829).
- Language: English
- Date: 2006