Most acoustics texts attribute trumpet brilliance to treble boost

Evidence

Instruments among those for which spectra have been presented, which have significant amplitudes in harmonics above the fifth or seventh during their steadystate phases, include organ reed stops (see Figures 4.22 and 5.2), the tenor saxophone (see Figures 4.24 and 5.3), the trumpet (see Figure 5.4), the violin and professional singing voice (see Figure 5.5). The timbres of such instruments might be compared with those of other instruments using descriptive terms such as “bright,” “brilliant” or “shrill.” — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1475 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Bright timbres stem from strong energy in harmonics above the seventh — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1475; A trumpet without a bell has stronger high partials than with one

Related

• Bright timbres stem from strong energy in harmonics above the seventh (similarity 0.90)
• A trumpet without a bell has stronger high partials than with one (similarity 0.87)
• Treble boost from trumpet bells may not actually make high frequencies louder (similarity 0.84)
• Note onsets have staggered harmonic entry times that define each instrument’s timbre (similarity 0.84)
• Of four brass instruments, only the trumpet shows prominent high harmonics (similarity 0.84)
• Timbre reduces to a weighted ratio of fundamental and resolved versus unresolved harmonics (similarity 0.84)
• The simple bell-boosts-treble explanation of trumpet tone is incomplete. (similarity 0.83)
• Timbre is conditioned entirely by the strength and presence of overtones (similarity 0.83)
• Instrument timbre differences stem from harmonic spectra that shape masking breadth (similarity 0.83)
• A trumpet’s bell beams high frequencies forward, changing timbre with direction of aim. (similarity 0.82)
• Harder blowing grows higher harmonics and brightens or rasps wind-instrument tone. (similarity 0.81)
• Musicians describe sounds using pitch, loudness, and timbre descriptors (similarity 0.81)
• Brass instruments differ sharply in how many harmonics their tones carry (similarity 0.81)
• An instrument’s identity is set by its unique recipe of frequency components (similarity 0.80)
• A bell lowers a tube’s cutoff frequency, easing high-frequency escape (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Bright timbres stem from strong energy in harmonics above the seventh #exemplifies (0.75) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1475
• A trumpet without a bell has stronger high partials than with one #exemplifies (0.75)