Short tones smear extra frequencies into their spectra, a cost called spectral splatter.

Evidence

In sum, a long-duration tone has only one frequency: it is frequency specific. A shortduration tone can never be frequency specific. The duration of a tone has a drastic influence on the frequencies present in the stimulus, and has a primary effect of broadening the spectral peak of the stimulus. The increase in the frequencies present in the stimulus is called spectral splatter, which is characterized by the bandwidth, or the range of frequencies contained within the stimulus. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 178

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines spectral splatter and bandwidth as consequences of shortening a tone.