Klarinet Archive - Posting 000313.txt from 1994/11

From: edgar pearlstein <e_p@-----.EDU>
Subj: Transients and tone quality
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 10:19:39 -0500

There have been several comments about the importance of transients
(attack and decay) upon the perceived tone quality. I have personally
performed the experiment of recording notes from clarinet, cornet, and
piano, and then playing them back without the initial attack. (I didn't
try the effect of the decay.)
The result was that for clarinet and cornet, it was difficult to tell
what instrument produced the notes when the attack wasn't heard. For the
piano, it didn't seem to matter; but perhaps that was partly because the
piano was out of tune, and there's no mistaking that tone!
The effect is described in various books on the physics of music. For
example: J. Backus, The Acoustical Foundations of Music, 2nd edition, page
118.
The experiment is fairly easy to perform, but it will take an hour or
two, and requires two tape recorders. Here is what I did: Record a
series of long notes from the instrument. I used major-scale arpeggios
from lowest to highest in the range. Then re-record from that tape
recorder electrically connected to another recorder through a switch (I
used an old telegraph key.) On rerecording, I closed the switch just
after hearing the original note, so there is a delay corresponding to my
reaction time (a few tenths of a second.)
It would be interesting to play such a tape for people who don't know
in advance what the instruments were.
.