Instrument timbre determines how dissonant the same two-note interval sounds

Evidence

When considering the notes played on pitched musical instruments, timbre relates to those aspects of the note which can be varied without affecting the pitch, duration or loudness of the note as a whole, such as the spectral components present and the way in which their frequencies and amplitudes vary during the sound. … The onset and offset portions of a note tend to last for a short time, of the order of a few tens of milliseconds (or a few hundredths of a second). Changes that occur during the onset and offset phases, and in par­ ticular during the onset, turn out to have a very important role in defining the timbre of a note. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1454 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Clashing tones within one critical band produce roughness that underlies dissonance; Dissonance depends on musical interval, not a fixed beat rate across frequencies; The same musical interval’s dissonance changes with pitch register (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• The same musical interval’s dissonance changes with pitch register #expands (0.80)
• Attack and release phases lasting milliseconds largely determine a note’s timbre #complicates (0.80) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1454
• Timbre reduces to a weighted ratio of fundamental and resolved versus unresolved harmonics #expands (0.75)
• A note’s onset phase matters most for perceived timbre #complicates (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1469
• An oboe-like timbre is reproduced by four harmonics with exponentially decreasing amplitudes #exemplifies (0.75) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5290
• Chord dissonance rises as harmonic number increases and interval shrinks #qualifies (0.72) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 998
• Nonlinear distortion generates new frequencies that change timbre with volume #expands (0.72)
• Musical intervals trace directly to harmonic-series frequency ratios #expands (0.70) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 811