title: Influence of pitch, loudness, and timbre on the perception of instrument dynamics.
abstract: The effect of variations in pitch, loudness, and timbre on the perception of the dynamics of isolated instrumental tones is investigated. A full factorial design was used in a listening experiment. The subjects were asked to indicate the perceived dynamics of each stimulus on a scale from pianissimo to fortissimo. Statistical analysis showed that for the instruments included (i.e., clarinet, flute, piano, trumpet, and violin) timbre and loudness had equally large effects, while pitch was relevant mostly for the first three. The results confirmed our hypothesis that loudness alone is not a reliable estimate of the dynamics of musical tones.
authors.affiliation: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Speech, Music, and Hearing, Lindstedtsv. 24, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden. himork@kth.se
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabiani
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friberg
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000162:Acoustics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001299:Audiometry; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009146:Music; D010898:Pitch Perception; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult