The role of spectral and dynamic cues in imagery for musical timbre

Author(s): Crowder, R. G.

Journal/Book: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1992; 18: 728-38.

Abstract: The musical quality of timbre is based on both spectral and dynamic acoustic cues. Four 2-part experiments examined whether these properties are represented in the mental image of a musical timbre. Experiment 1 established that imagery occurs for timbre variations within a single musical instrument, using plucked and bowed tones from a cello. Experiments 2 and 3 used synthetic stimuli that varied in either spectral or dynamic properties only, to investigate imagery with strict acoustic control over the stimuli. Experiment 4 explored whether the dimension of loudness is stored in an auditory image. Spectral properties appear to play a much larger role than dynamic properties in imagery for musical timbre.

Keyword(s): Adult ; Attention ; Cues ; Reaction Time Imagination ; Loudness Perception; Music ; Pitch Discrimination; Sound Spectrography Human; Support, U.S. Gov't, Non P.H.S.

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