Complex Sounds: Timbre, Dynamics, and Scene Analysis in Auditory Perception

Timbre

Psychological sensation by which a listener can judge that two sounds with the same fundamental loudness and pitch are dissimilar.

Harmonics

Frequencies that contribute to the perception of timbre.

Perception of timbre

Depends on the context in which sound is heard, including both physical context and sound context.

Dynamics

How sound changes in intensity over time.

Attack

Part of a sound during which amplitude increases (onset).

Decay

Part of a sound during which amplitude decreases (offset).

Source segregation

Processing an auditory scene consisting of multiple sound sources into separate sound images.

Auditory scene analysis

Another term for source segregation.