The Tonal Spectra of Wind Instruments

Abstract

Musicians and acousticians have long been interested in that property, variously called timbre, tone-colour or quality, which characterises the sounds of different wind instruments. The musician's concern lies in the utilisation of these differences of tonal quality for their artistic effect. The acoustician's purpose is, however, to establish the physical principles upon which such differences depend, and this he has accomplished by two methods, mathematical theory and experimental investigation. When I was invited to address this Association it was suggested that I might discuss in a non-technical way some of the more recent work on the tonal analysis of wind instruments, and I have, therefore, chosen this as my topic. As qualifications for the task I may claim a life-long interest in the physics of wind instruments and a certain amateur competence as a player.