Subject: AW: AW: [AUDITORY] Theory of Timbre Perception From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Hannes_L=F6schke?= <hannes_loeschke@xxxxxxxx> Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 15:37:40 +0000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>Actually I believe that timbre is not a purely cognitive process. There are several aspects of timbre like sharpness and roughness that are processed in the auditory periphery in a similar way as loudenss is. I'm still digging into the specs of information transfer from the periphery to the auditory cortex but to put it simple the input needed to process roughness in the cortex is way too much and the effects involved can be easily explainded by low level peripheral processes. Key words for dimensions of timbre involve: sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength, volume, density, tonality, impulsiveness On the other hand, object identification by timbre surely is a cognitive process. The best to look for in this field is "auditory scene analysis" Hannes ----- Ursprüngliche Mail ---- Von: Chris Share <cshare01@xxxxxxxx> An: Hannes Löschke <hannes_loeschke@xxxxxxxx> Gesendet: Montag, den 6. August 2007, 16:04:23 Uhr Betreff: Re: AW: [AUDITORY] Theory of Timbre Perception Yes, I don't think I've been clear enough with my question. In terms of pitch perception, there are several theories of how the human hearing mechanism works (Place, Timing, Pattern). For example, the Place theory proposes that the pitch of a sound is determined by the place of maximum excitation on the basilar membrane. What I was wondering is, is there a theory of timbre perception that is posed in similar terms? The answers that I've received so far suggest that timbre perception is a purely cognitive process, so in that case the answer is no. However, I've received a thesis from Suzan Emiroglu which may give me the information I was looking for. Cheers, Chris Hannes Löschke wrote: > I'm a little confused. As far as I recall timbre is defined as > "...an attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which a listener can judge that two sounds are similarly presented and having the same loudness and pitch are dissimilar.” > > So pitch would actually have nothing to do with timbre. So could you please shed some more light on what you are after? > > Hannes Löschke > > Institut für Musikinstrumentenbau > Klingenthaler Straße 42 > 08267 Zwota > http://www.ifm-zwota.de > > > > ----- Ursprüngliche Mail ---- > Von: Chris Share <cshare01@xxxxxxxx> > An: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx > Gesendet: Montag, den 6. August 2007, 10:24:31 Uhr > Betreff: Re: [AUDITORY] Theory of Timbre Perception > > >> As the term psychoacoustics has evolved into perception and cognition, I >> would place timbre on the 'cognition' side of this process, that is, it >> doesn't exist except as interpreted by the brain. > > That's actually what I was interested in. For example, there are various > theories of pitch perception (Place, Timing, Pattern). What I was asking > is, are there any equivalent theories regarding timbre perception. > > When you say "the 'cognition' side of this process", where does this begin? > > Cheers, > > Chris > > > __________________________________ > F1: Wer hat auf dem Hungaro Ring die Nase vorn? Alles zum Rennwochenende auf Yahoo! Eurosport. www.eurosport.yahoo.de > > __________________________________ F1: Wer hat auf dem Hungaro Ring die Nase vorn? Alles zum Rennwochenende auf Yahoo! Eurosport. www.eurosport.yahoo.de