How much one tone masks another depends on their frequencies and amplitudes.
Evidence
When two or more pure tones are heard together, an effect known as āmaskingā can occur, in which each individual tone can become more difficult or impossible to perceive, or it is partially or completely āmaskedā due to the presence of another tone. In such a case, the tone that causes the masking is known as the āmaskerā and the tone that is masked is known as the āmaskee.ā These tones could be individual pure tones, but, given the rarity of such sounds in music, they are more likely to be individual frequency components of a note played on one instrument that mask either other components in that note or frequency components of another note. The extent to which masking occurs depends on the frequencies of the masker and maskee and their amplitudes. ā David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1592
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the core psychoacoustic terms āmaskerā and āmaskeeā and the phenomenon of masking itself.
- XREF: The remark that single pure tones are rare in music connects to the earlier consonance/dissonance discussion referenced in the next paragraph. ā connects to: One tone can make another tone inaudible through masking; Three acoustic properties determine whether a sound masks another. ā Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normalā¦, 444; One sound can mask another even when their spectra do not overlap. ā Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- Anā¦, 991 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- One tone can make another tone inaudible through masking
#corroborates(1.00) - Three acoustic properties determine whether a sound masks another.
#corroborates(1.00) ā Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normalā¦, 444 - One sound can mask another even when their spectra do not overlap.
#corroborates(1.00) ā Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- Anā¦, 991 - Loud low-frequency tones mask high frequencies more than high tones mask low.
#corroborates(1.00)