MyLeoNes™

Timbre gives sound its character — Art, 7–10

Timbre is what lets you tell two instruments or voices apart, even when they play the same note.

idea

Timbre is the sound’s character or colour. A piano and a trumpet can play the same note at the same loudness, yet you can tell them apart because their vibrations are shaped differently. Your voice, a dog’s bark and a drum all have different timbres.

why

If music had only pitch and loudness, every instrument playing one note would sound alike. Timbre solves the problem of identity: it helps listeners know who or what is making the sound. Musicians use it to choose a bright trumpet, a soft violin or a rough voice for a particular feeling.

worked example

Ask a friend to play middle C on a piano and then on a recorder. First, keep the note’s pitch the same; next, keep the loudness as similar as possible. If you can still tell which instrument is playing, you are hearing timbre. Now hum the note: your voice adds a third timbre.

trap

It is easy to call every difference in sound “loudness” or “pitch”, because those are changes you can notice quickly. But a quiet trumpet and a quiet piano can still sound different at the same pitch. Loudness tells you how strong the sound is; pitch tells you how high or low; timbre tells you what kind of sound it is.

use

Timbre helps you recognise a family member’s voice on the phone or a familiar bird outside. In films and games, creators choose a sound’s character to make a robot seem metallic, a monster frightening or a wooden door creaky. You can explore it by changing the material you tap.

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