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@xxxxxxxxx>
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@xxxxxxxxx>
An: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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
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