Perspectives on the Contribution of Timbre to Musical Structure

cote interne IRCAM: McAdams99aNone / NoneNational audienceSeveral approaches to the role of timbre perception in music are considered. Multidimensional analyses of dissimil arity judgments between pairs of timbre allow the derivation of timbre spaces. The dimensions of these spaces can be correlated with acoustic parameters, thus giving access to perceptually relevant control of sound analysis and synthesis as well as perceptual content-based search in sound databases. These spaces are predictive models in tha t they allow the development of conceptions of timbral intervals and an estimation of the timbre differences that give rise to auditory stream segregation. Finally, timbre is considered as a component in the creation of musical tension and relaxation schemas in orchestrated music