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Updated: May 28, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
Influence of pitch, loudness, and timbre on the perception of instrument dynamics
Marco Fabiani1, Anders Friberg
1KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Speech, Music, and Hearing, Lindstedtsv. 24, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden. himork@kth.se
Abstract:
The effect of variations in pitch, loudness, and timbre on the perception of the dynamics of isolated instrumental tones is investigated. A full factorial design was used in a listening experiment. The subjects were asked to indicate the perceived dynamics of each stimulus on a scale from pianissimo to fortissimo. Statistical analysis showed that for the instruments included (i.e., clarinet, flute, piano, trumpet, and violin) timbre and loudness had equally large effects, while pitch was relevant mostly for the first three. The results confirmed our hypothesis that loudness alone is not a reliable estimate of the dynamics of musical tones.
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