Instrument Timbre Enhances Perceptual Segregation in Orchestral Music

Fischer, Manda; Soden, Kit; Thoret, Etienne; Montrey, Marcel; McAdams, Stephen

doi:10.1525/mp.2021.38.5.473

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…These results further support the conclusion of Tardieu and McAdams ( 2012 ) and Lembke et al ( 2019 ) that fusion is reduced in the presence of non-sustaining instruments with mixed timbre. Similarly, the results of our manuscript are consistent with the conclusions drawn by Fischer et al ( 2021 ), namely, decreasing temporal differences reduce segregation ratings. In addition, the comparison of the results of these three papers shows that the higher the similarity of timbre, the higher the fusion, and the lower the segregation, and vice versa .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

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Comparison and Analysis of Timbre Fusion for Chinese and Western Musical Instruments

et al. 2022

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Timbre fusion is the theoretical basis of instrument acoustics and Chinese and Western orchestral acoustics. Currently, studies on timbre fusion are mainly focused on Western instruments, but there are some studies on the timbre fusion of Chinese instruments. In this paper, the characteristics of timbre fusion for Chinese and Western instruments are explored, focusing on the subjective attributes and objective acoustic parameters, and a series of experiments is carried out. First, a database containing 518 mixed timbre stimuli of Chinese and Western instruments was constructed to provide basic data that are necessary for the subjective and objective analyses of timbre fusion. We designed and conducted a subjective evaluation experiment of timbre perception attributes based on the method of successive categories. The experimental data were processed using statistical approaches, such as variance analysis, multidimensional preference analysis, and correlation analysis, and we studied the influence of the temporal envelopes and instrument types on fusion, segregation, roughness, and pleasantness. In addition, the differences between Chinese and Western instruments were compared based on these four perception attributes. The results show that fusion and segregation are the most important attributes for Chinese instrument timbre, while roughness is the most important attribute for Western instrument timbre. In addition, multiple linear regression, random forest, and multilayer perceptron were used to construct a set of timbre fusion models for Chinese and Western instruments. The results show that these models can better predict the timbre fusion attributes. It was also found that there are some differences between the timbre fusion models for Chinese and Western instruments, which is consistent with the analysis results of subjective experimental data. The contribution of acoustic objective parameters to the fusion model is also discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…A physical sound source can produce a sequence of successive acoustic events. To examine this phenomenon, Fischer et al ( 2021 ) used naturalistic orchestral excerpts from the symphonic repertoire to examine perceptual segregation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison and Analysis of Timbre Fusion for Chinese and Western Musical Instruments

et al. 2022

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“…The registral and rhythmic differences are highlighted by a timbral difference between the delicate crystalline clarity of the violin and the plaintive nasality of the oboe, which enhances the registral separation and rhythmic contrast to ensure their distinguishability. Although these two parts would most likely segregate if played by the same instrument, note first that timbre covaries with pitch register and second that the additional timbral difference likely enhances the segregation, as Fischer et al (2021) have demonstrated experimentally. Audio Example 13 first presents the two instruments alone (a), followed by the full context with the background harmony provided by the string sections (b).…”

Section: Segregationmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Au contraire, avec des timbres différents il n'est pas besoin de cet espace. (Our translation) Return to text 19 Fischer, Thoret, Soden, Montrey, and McAdams (2021). conducted perceptual experiments on auditory segregation in orchestral excerpts and determined that heterogeneous instrument combinations (different instrument families) between streams yielded greater perceived segregation than did homogeneous combinations (same family).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Taxonomy of Orchestral Grouping Effects Derived from Principles of Auditory Perception

McAdams,

Goodchild,

Soden

2022

MTO

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The study of timbre and orchestration in symphonic music research is underexplored, and few theories attempt to explain strategies for combining and contrasting instruments and the resulting perception of orchestral structures and textures. An analysis of orchestration treatises and musical scores reveals an implicit understanding of auditory grouping principles by which many orchestration techniques give rise to predictable perceptual effects. We present a novel theory formalized in a taxonomy of devices related to auditory grouping principles that appear frequently in Western orchestration practices from a range of historical epochs. We develop three classes of orchestration analysis categories: concurrent grouping cues result in blended combinations of instruments; sequential grouping cues result in melodic lines, the integration of surface textures, and the segregation of melodies or stratified (foreground and background) layers based on acoustic (dis)similarities; segmental grouping cues contrast sequentially presented blocks of materials and contribute to the creation of perceptual boundaries. The theory predicts orchestration-based perceptual structuring in music and may be applied to music of any style, culture, or genre.

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“…The material of the outer frame has a significant impact on the sound effect of the speaker, and selecting the appropriate material can greatly improve the sound quality of the speaker. A speaker is usually composed of a box and a speaker unit, and the box is the outer shell of the speaker, which directly affects the sound effect of the speaker ( FischerSodenThoret et al, 2021 ). In traditional speaker design, the box is mostly made of wood, but wood can have a certain degree of sound leakage, which affects the sound effect of the speaker.…”

Section: Application Of Conjugated Materials In Music Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sound effect of transmitting specific emotions in music performance based on the acoustic properties of conjugated materials

Li,

Lee

2023

Front. Chem.

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In music performances, instruments made of traditional materials often cannot accurately express specific emotions through means such as tone, pitch, and timbre, and it is difficult to adjust the sound effects according to specific emotions. This article studies the impact of conjugated materials on the timbre, frequency response, etc. of musical instruments, hoping to achieve sound effects that better convey specific emotions. This article analyzes the acoustic properties of conjugated materials and applies them to musical performances. It is found that conjugated materials can provide a wider selection of tones, pitches and timbres, performers can choose appropriate tone, pitch, and timbre from conjugated materials to express emotions according to specific emotional needs, or adjust and transform the tone, pitch, and timbre for specific emotions, thereby arousing emotional resonance from the audience, so that specific emotions can be conveyed to the audience more accurately and powerfully. At the same time, this research also found that compared with an environment with poor sound insulation, the average sound absorption coefficient of metal materials in a room with good sound insulation increased by 6.5%, and the average sound absorption coefficient of conjugate materials increased by 25.4%, which shows that the increase in the average sound absorption coefficient of conjugate materials is much greater than that of metallic materials. The research shows that studying the sound effects of musical performances based on the acoustic properties of conjugated materials will help explore and develop more immersive and emotionally rich musical experiences.

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Instrument Timbre Enhances Perceptual Segregation in Orchestral Music

Cited by 8 publications

References 58 publications

Comparison and Analysis of Timbre Fusion for Chinese and Western Musical Instruments

Comparison and Analysis of Timbre Fusion for Chinese and Western Musical Instruments

A Taxonomy of Orchestral Grouping Effects Derived from Principles of Auditory Perception

Sound effect of transmitting specific emotions in music performance based on the acoustic properties of conjugated materials

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