Distinct high partials make tones sound cutting or rough and powerful
Evidence
- When partials higher than the sixth or seventh are very distinct, the quality of the tone is cutting or rough… . The most important musical tones of this description are those of the bowed instruments and of most reed pipes, oboe, bassoon, harmonium and the human voice. The rough, braying tones of brass instruments are extremely penetrating, and hence are better adapted to give the impression of great power than similar tones of a softer quality. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1520
- When partials higher than the sixth or seventh are very distinct, the quality of the tone is cutting or rough… . The most important musical tones of this description are those of the bowed instruments and of most reed pipes, oboe, bassoon, harmonium and the human voice. The rough, braying tones of brass instruments are extremely penetrating and hence are better adapted to give the impression of great power than similar tones of a softer quality. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1496
When partials higher than the sixth or seventh are very distinct, the quality of the tone is cutting or rough… . The most important musical tones of this description are those of the bowed instruments and of most reed pipes, oboe, bassoon, harmonium and the human voice. The rough, braying tones of brass instruments are extremely penetrating, and hence are better adapted to give the impression of great power than similar tones of a softer quality. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1520
Categorization
- DEFINE: Lays out the perceptual category of cutting or rough tone quality tied to partial content above the sixth or seventh.
- XREF: Explains why brass reads as ‘powerful’ — a perceptual effect of high partial content rather than sheer loudness. — connects to: A trumpet without a bell has stronger high partials than with one; Harder blowing grows higher harmonics and brightens or rasps wind-instrument tone.; Musical instruments are engineered to suppress higher partials to avoid dissonance (+2 more)
- SEED: Angle: how orchestration exploits the ear’s mapping of high partials onto felt grandeur, from oboe to brass fanfare.
- QUESTION: This seems to describe a specific spectral shape for roughness - worth connecting to how brass instruments produce braying overtones through their bore geometry.
- corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1520; David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1496
Broader Connections
- Tones with lower partials up to the sixth sound rich yet sweet
#corroborates(0.72)