Music

Timbre (Study Guide)

Timbre
What does Timbre mean in music?
Timbre (Pronounced Tam-ber) is the quality of a musical note. It is what makes a
musical note sound different from another one. Words like round, brassy, sharp, or bright
can be used to describe the timbre of a sound.

A good comparison to timbre in music is the flavor of different apples: they are all
apples, but they all have their own flavors.

A violin will have a different timbre to a guitar, even though they are both string
instruments and can play the same notes.

But even two violins have different timbres! This is because sounds - almost all sounds,
not just those in music - have multiple layers of tone. Part of being an experienced musician
is being able to bring these sounds out of your instrument and expressively use timbre in
music.

How is Timbre in music measured?

Sound is measured as a wave - this is essentially what the timbre is. Each sound wave
will have different characteristics based on the timbre of a sound.

Ref: https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-
wiki/timbre#:~:text=Timbre(Pronounced%20Tam%2Dber),the%20timbre%20of%20a%20sound.
Music
Timbre (Study Guide)

What words can describe Timbre in music?

• Brassy • Piercing

• Thick • Rich

• Cold • Warm

• Breathy • Heavy

• Bright • Dull

• Clean • Thin

• Distorted

It’s much easier at first to hear the different timbres in different people’s singing
voices as we are already used to the idea that everyone’s speaking voice sounds different.
It is the same for musical instruments! One way to get used to describing
different timbres is to think of what color the sound is. Is the color warm or cold? There
are no correct answers, people will perceive different qualities in the same sounds.

Understanding timbre in music will help you to describe what you hear and say why it
makes you think of certain things or feel a certain way.

Ref: https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-
wiki/timbre#:~:text=Timbre(Pronounced%20Tam%2Dber),the%20timbre%20of%20a%20sound.