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timbre
(redirected from Timbres)

    Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.

timbre

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A mixture of three pure tones (top) yields a complex resultant tone (bottom), such as might be …
(credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)
Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or other sound source from another. Timbre largely results from a characteristic combination of overtones produced by different instruments. This distinctive combination (which usually varies across the range of pitches) is what principally permits a listener to distinguish a clarinet from a flute, an alto from a tenor, or even a Stradivarius violin from a Guarneri violin, when both are sounding the same pitch. One element of timbre results from the differing methods of producing the sounds (blowing, bowing, striking, etc.), especially audible at the moment a note begins.

A quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical instrument from another. For example, MIDI synthesizers are multi-timbral, meaning that they can play multiple instruments simultaneously.



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Working with small ensembles and exotic timbres such as marimba, lute, Chinese two-string fiddle, steel drums, and bassoon, Merritt fashions a colorful universe that's more like a demented whirl through Disneyland's "It's a Small World" than an everyday stroll down Broadway.
No jazz hands by Reighley, Kurt B. / The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)
Through a process called Montage Voice Technology, Index and partner Japan Acoustic Laboratory have created vocal timbres they say are reasonable approximations of what the real thing would have sounded like.
Blast from the past: is that a ghost in your pocket or are you just ... by Hornyak, Tim / Japan Inc.
The manuscript melody points up the longevity of timbres in the milieux where complaintes circulated.
Female Complaintes: Laments of Venus, Queens, and City Women in Late ... by ORDEN, KATE VAN / Renaissance Quarterly
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