ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on di... more ABSTRACT This talk discusses the results of experiments in which performances were replayed on different "virtual violins" in order to explore the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities. Specifically, it explores perceptual observations reported by Dunnwald [based on his measurements of over 700 instruments, J. Catgut. Acoust. Soc. (1991)] by modifying the amplitude of the resonance modes over five octave bands (thereby covering the violin's entire register). When using a subset of the most distinctive verbal descriptors of violin timbre [Fritz et al., Conference of Interdisplinary Musicology (2009)] to study the relationship between human perception and these acoustical modifications, we ascertained results that partially conflict with Dunnwald's observations. In addition, the study investigated the manner by which one's perception of the violin's tone quality is affected by the magnitude of a player's vibrato as well as the damping of the violin's resonant modes. Our results do not support the conclusion that liveliness results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. The talk concludes by discussing the limits of such psychophysical studies, suggesting future directions for psycholinguistic-based research in this domain.
This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to wh... more This paper presents the results of a preliminary series of experiments exploring the extent to which listeners display consistent patterns of preference and discrimination in respect of violin sounds, an issue which has received little prior attention in the literature but which is of great interest for violinists, violinmakers and psychologists.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2008
ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the percep... more ABSTRACT Although it seems obvious to violinists that vibrato has a large influence on the perception of violin tone quality, published studies of violin vibrato have mainly concerned its influence on the sound from a scientific point of view, i.e. the characterisation of its time-frequency properties. Work will be described to explore the link between the perception of vibrato notes, the extent of frequency modulation and the level of damping of the resonance modes of the violin. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response function. The test methodology is based on liveliness ratings and triadic comparisons, where subjects have to select the most similar and the most different pair in each triad (presentation of three sounds). The sounds of the corpus are synthesised using sawtooth waves with frequency modulation, whose amplitude is varied, filtered through a set of admittances corresponding to a reference violin and two modified violins, one with the damping of all modes increased, the other one with the damping decreased.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2007
This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between ... more This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different "virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then played through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted of shifts in frequency or increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Thresholds were significantly lower for musically trained than for nontrained subjects but were not significantly affected by the violin used as a baseline. Thresholds for the musicians typically ranged from 3 to 6 dB for amplitude changes and 1.5 to 20% for frequency changes. Interpretation of the results using excitation patterns showed that thresholds for the best subjects were quite well predicted by a multichannel model based on optimal processing.
ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences... more ABSTRACT This study is the first step in the psychoacoustic exploration of perceptual differences between the sounds of different violins. A method was used which enabled the same performance to be replayed on different ``virtual violins", so that the relationships between acoustical characteristics of violins and perceived qualities could be explored. Recordings of real performances were made using a bridge-mounted force transducer, giving an accurate representation of the signal from the violin string. These were then placed through filters corresponding to the admittance curves of different violins. Initially, limits of listener performance in detecting changes in acoustical characteristics were characterized. These consisted in increases in amplitude of single modes or frequency bands that have been proposed previously to be significant in the perception of violin sound quality. Then, the linearity of the perceptual effect of each modification was tested. Finally, a model for predicting thresholds was developed and used to predict the effect on the thresholds of parameters like vibrato.
Journal of The Acoustical Society of America, 2010
This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the appli... more This work explored how the perception of violin notes is influenced by the magnitude of the applied vibrato and by the level of damping of the violin resonance modes. Damping influences the "peakiness" of the frequency response, and vibrato interacts with this peakiness by producing fluctuations in spectral content as well as in frequency and amplitude. Initially, it was shown that thresholds for detecting a change in vibrato amplitude were independent of body damping, and thresholds for detecting a change in body damping were independent of vibrato amplitude. A study of perceptual similarity using triadic comparison showed that vibrato amplitude and damping were largely perceived as independent dimensions. A series of listening tests was conducted employing synthesized, recorded or live performance to probe perceptual responses in terms of "liveliness" and preference. The results do not support the conclusion that "liveliness" results from the combination of the use of vibrato and a "peaky" violin response. Judgments based on listening to single notes showed inconsistent patterns for liveliness, while preferences were highest for damping that was slightly less than for a reference (real) violin. In contrast, judgments by players based on many notes showed preference for damping close to the reference value.
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Papers by Claudia Fritz