Instrument identity relies heavily on note onset and offset phases

Evidence

A number of psychoacoustic experiments have been carried out to explore listeners’ perceptions of the timbre of musical instruments and the acoustic factors on which it depends. Such experiments have demonstrated, for example, that listeners cannot reliably identify musical instruments if the onset and offset phases of notes are removed. For example, if recordings of a note played on a violin open string and the same note played on a trumpet are modified to remove their onset and offset phases in each case, it becomes very difficult to tell them apart. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1470

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how synthesized instruments sound unconvincing — the sameness of steady-state tone vs. transient attack. Also relates to listening purpose: hearing the transient envelope when attending to live music. — connects to: Grey’s timbre findings confirm that note onset transients largely determine perceived instrument identity
• SEED: Article angle: what attack transients teach about intentionality in music — the first 50ms carries the identity of a sound, an analogy for first impressions in general.

Related

• Onset attack mechanisms are vital acoustic cues to instrument identity (similarity 0.92)
• A sound’s onset transients largely determine instrument identity (similarity 0.91)
• Instrument identity depends largely on attack and release transients, not steady tone (similarity 0.91)
• An instrument’s normal attack transient is essential to its characteristic timbre (similarity 0.90)
• Study results confirm that attack onset dominates timbre perception (similarity 0.89)
• Grey’s timbre findings confirm that note onset transients largely determine perceived instrument identity (similarity 0.88)
• A note’s onset phase matters most for perceived timbre (similarity 0.88)
• An instrument’s opening attack largely determines its perceived timbre (similarity 0.87)
• Attack and release phases lasting milliseconds largely determine a note’s timbre (similarity 0.87)
• Timbre depends on sound order over time, not just spectral content. (similarity 0.85)
• Instrument note onsets vary hugely across takes, players, and environments (similarity 0.85)
• Instrument sound envelopes are described by attack, decay, sustain, and release phases (similarity 0.83)
• Individual instrument note onsets are irreproducible even under identical conditions (similarity 0.83)
• Note onsets have staggered harmonic entry times that define each instrument’s timbre (similarity 0.82)
• Phase randomization alters timbre more than 4 dB amplitude randomization (similarity 0.82)