In a message dated Fri, 2 Aug 2002 8:10:24 AM Eastern Standard Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes: > > > Why does a flute sound like a flute? Why does an obo sound like an obo? Why does a guitar sound like a guitar? And last, but certainly not least, why does a piano sound like a piano? > > Does anyone have a simplistic explanation for what is the cause of unique sounds/tones among various instruments? If you play A4 at a pitch of 440 Hz on any instument, you will hear the pitch of 400 Hz. But they will all sound different. So I guess they all do something different to the soundwave that reaches your ear. What is that difference? How does a speaker > reproduce these differences of they only move in and out? > > Thanks for any thoughts. > > Terry Farrell > > > Terry, a friend of mine attended a college course where the instructor challanged the class to determine the type of instrument being played just by listening to a recorded tone (A 440) of each instrument with the attack and decay portion of the tone removed. No one in the class could distinguish any of the instruments. I am not sure he is correct but I wonder if what he said is perhaps a clue as to one reason we can recognize different instruments. David Koelzer Vintage Pianos DFW
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC