Timbre

Tone Color

Tone color is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish the sound of one instrument from another. Every instrument produces its own tone color. For example, when you hear a clarinet and a guitar play the exact same pitch, the tone color of each instrument allows you to tell the difference between the sounds that you hear. Another name for tone color is timbre (pronounced tam-ber).

We often use terms like warm, dark, bright, or buzzy to describe tone color.

Test Yourself! See if you can identify the instrument by the sound it makes:

http://www.musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/aq_identify_the_instrument_sounds/quiz.html

Youtube Video: Can you identify the instrument by it's Timbre?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4S3yXtAC9Y

Practice Identifying Instruments by their sounds using this App:

https://www.appannie.com/en/apps/ios/app/3strike-instruments-identify/