Color analogies naturally describe timbre, whose acoustic basis is overtones

Evidence

The definition given by Scholes (1970) encompasses some timbral descriptors: “Timbre means tone quality – coarse or smooth, ringing or more subtly penetrating, ‘scarlet’ like that of a trumpet, ‘rich brown’ like that of a cello, or ‘silver’ like that of the flute. These color analogies come naturally to every mind… . The one and only factor in sound production which conditions timbre is the presence or absence, or relative strength or weakness, of overtones.” (In Chapter 3, Table 3.1 gives the relationship between overtones and harmonics.) While his color analogies might not come naturally to every mind, Scholes’ later comments about the acoustic nature of sounds which have different timbres are a useful contribution to the acoustic discussion of the timbre of musical sounds. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1452

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows how timbre equates tone quality with overtone structure and why color metaphors are used.
• XREF: Cross-sensory color terms (synesthesia-like descriptors) connect to the reader’s broader interest in how sensory experience is interpreted — and to the modesty/immodesty and trees articles’ theme of language describing perception. — connects to: Timbre is conditioned entirely by the strength and presence of overtones — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1426; The word timbre derives from klangfarbe meaning color of tone; Timbre is determined by the relative amplitudes of partials, not their frequencies alone — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2201

Broader Connections

• Timbre is conditioned entirely by the strength and presence of overtones #corroborates (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1426
• The word timbre derives from klangfarbe meaning color of tone #expands (0.80)
• Timbre is determined by the relative amplitudes of partials, not their frequencies alone #corroborates (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2201