A timbre is a subjective assessment of a sound, due to which those that have the same pitch and intensity differ from each other.
The word "timbre" comes from the French timbre, which in direct translation into Russian means a bell, or a distinctive sign. A timbre is a hallmark of any instrument or voice.
Timbre is the so-called sound coloring. It is a characteristic of sound quality, due to which two tones of the same pitch and power produced by different instruments or voices are different from each other.
Timbre Research History
In 1913, the famous German physicist German Helmholtz, in his study The Doctrine of Sound Sensations, established that each vowel contains one or two areas of special amplified overtones - characteristics of the vowel tone that are part of the sound spectrum. The physicist proved that due to differences in tone characteristics, vowels have differences from each other.
The sound of some musical bodies, such as a bell or record, is accompanied by excellent overtones from the sound of wind and string instruments preferred in classical music. However, in the latter, various amplification or attenuation of various overtones produces a change in timbre.
The difference in the timbres of human voices depends both on the vocal cords themselves and on the resonance conditions in the oral cavity. Countless gradations of vowels, which produce various modifications of the timbre, also influence the tone of the human voice.
In the studies of the German professor Karl Schaffgetl on acoustic and musical instruments "Ueber Schall, Ton, Knall und einige andere Gegenstände der Akustik" it was proved that the material from which the musical instrument is made has a great influence on the timbre. So, for example, the sound of a violin from spruce will differ from the sound of the exact same violin from maple.
An important role in the differences in timbre caused by the material of the instrument is played by the molecular structure. So, organ masters have been aware for many centuries that manufactured principle pipes from lead or tin, or the body of language pipes from zinc or tin, play a key role in the sound of the instrument.
