An exploration of sound timbre using perceptual and time-varying frequency spectrum techniques.

This thesis describes the investigation of sound timbre using perceptual and acoustical
techniques, with 153 input stimuli. The acoustical methods are based on time and
frequency domain representations. The thesis covers the following areas of work:
1. A consideration of previous research in timbre, the different structural forms
associated with it, and different definitions concerning timbre and the timbre space
representation.
2. A study concerning perceptual similarity reactions to the input stimuli, a statistical
analysis of the result structure, and the implications for understanding of the
structure of timbral audition.
3. Analysis and synthesis using a time-varying frequency spectrum model, with
adaptive viewpoint properties to achieve appropriate time-frequency resolution.
4. Extraction of 335 timbral features from the spectral form, a statistical analysis to
find those features which describe perceptual differences between stimuli, and an
investigation of timbral dimensionality.