Timbre perception arises from basilar membrane vibration patterns, not pitch alone

Evidence

While the periods and therefore the f0 val­ ues of these notes are similar, their waveform shapes are very different. The perceived pitch of each of these notes will be A4 and the distinctive sound of each of these instruments is related to the differences in the detailed shape of their acoustic pressure waveforms, which is how listeners recog­ nize the difference between, for example, a violin, a clarinet and an oboe. This is because acoustic pressure variations produced by a musical instru­ ment that impinge on the listener’s tympanic membrane are responsible for the pattern of vibration set up on the basilar membrane of that ear. It is this pattern of vibration that is then analyzed in terms of the frequency components of which they are comprised (see Chapter 2). If the pattern of vibration on the basilar membrane varies when comparing different sounds, for example from a violin and a clarinet, then the sounds are per­ ceived as having a different “timbre” (see Chapter 5) whether or not they have the same pitch. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 783

Categorization

• XREF: Ties the basilar membrane analysis from Chapter 2 to timbre, which threads toward Chapter 5’s fuller treatment. — connects to: Instrument timbre differences stem from harmonic spectra that shape masking breadth — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 449; Psychoacoustic tuning curves directly reflect cochlear mechanical processing. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 223; Elevation localization is a timbral recognition task driven by resonant peaks — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 744 (+10 more)
• DEFINE: Explains timbre causally: same pitch, different vibration pattern on the basilar membrane = different timbre.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 783

Broader Connections

• Only harmonics below the fifth to seventh are individually resolved in timbre perception #expands (0.85)
• Timbre reduces to a weighted ratio of fundamental and resolved versus unresolved harmonics #qualifies (0.80)
• A note’s onset phase matters most for perceived timbre #expands (0.80) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1469
• A source’s changing directionality with frequency alters perceived timbre via the reverberant field #expands (0.75) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1796