Timbre has generally been used without any great consistency of meaning to refer very loosely to the 'colour' of a sound. It has often, and incorrectly, been treated as a discrete 'parameter' of sound, along with other facets such as frequency and pitch. Creative practice and research in electroacoustic music have revealed the unsatisfactory nature of this imprecision, and opened up the notion to a much more complex and protean situation, where timbre exists in fragile relationships and continua with frequency, spectral content, sonic identity, and source recognition. This leads to a situation where, in many musical examples, it is hard to separate timbre from the overall musical discourse.

A general, sonic physiognomy whose spectromorphological ensemble permits the attribution of an identity. (Source - Denis Smalley (1994). Defining Timbre - Refining Timbre. Contemporary Music Review Vol. 10, Part 2. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.)

Ensemble of the parameters of pitch, duration, amplitude, spectral components, dynamic evolution, etc. which determine the colour of a sound. (Source - Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques: http://www.dictionnairegram.org)

Le terme timbre est généralement employé sans définition précise et fait référence à la “couleur” du son. Il a souvent, et d'une manière inexacte, désigné un paramètre du son, à côté d'autres aspects comme la fréquence ou la hauteur. La création et la recherche musicale en électroacoustique ont révélé la nature imprécise de cette définition et ont commencé à l'employé lors de situations beaucoup plus complexes et protéiformes dans lesquelles le timbre désigne la relation fragile et continue entre la fréquence, le contenu spectral, l'identité sonore et la reconnaissance de la source. Cette nouvelle définition mène à une situation dans laquelle, dans de nombreux exemples musicaux, il est difficile de séparer le timbre du discours musical.

Physiognomonie générale des sons dont tous les éléments spectromorphologiques permettent de leur attribuer une identité. (Source - Denis Smalley (1994). "Defining Timbre - Refining Timbre". Contemporary Music Review Vol. 10, Part 2. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.)

Ensemble des paramètres de hauteur, de durée, d'amplitude, de composants spectraux, d'évolution dynamique, etc. qui déterminent la couleur d'un son. (Source - Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques : http://www.dictionnairegram.org)

Il termine viene spesso utilizzato in un'accezione molto generale che fa riferimento al “colore” del suono. Spesso, in maniera esatta, viene indicato come parametro di un suono, accanto ad altri come la frequenza o altezza. La creazione e la ricerca musicale elettroacustica hanno messo in luce l'imprecisione di questa definizione e hanno cominciato aperto la nozione di timbro ad un senso più complesso e proteiforme, all'interno del quale il timbro traccia una relazione fragile e continua tra la frequenza, il contenuto spettrale, l'identità sonora, e il riconoscimento della fonte. Questa nuova definizione ha portato ad una situazione in cui, in molti esempi musicali, è difficile separare il timbro dal discorso musicale.

Seguono alcune definizioni recenti.

Fisionomia generale dei suoni il cui insieme degli elementi spettromorfologici permette di attribuire loro un'identità (Fonte - Denis Smalley (1994). Defining Timbre - Refining Timbre. Contemporary Music Review Vol. 10, Part 2. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.).

Insieme dei parametri di altezza, durata, ampiezza, componenti spettrali, evoluzione dinamica, ecc. che determinano il colore di un suono (Fonte - Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques: http://www.dictionnairegram.org).

Timbre has generally been used without any great consistency of meaning to refer very loosely to the 'colour' of a sound. It has often, and incorrectly, been treated as a discrete 'parameter' of sound, along with other facets such as frequency and pitch. Creative practice and research in electroacoustic music have revealed the unsatisfactory nature of this imprecision, and opened up the notion to a much more complex and protean situation, where timbre exists in fragile relationships and continua with frequency, spectral content, sonic identity, and source recognition. This leads to a situation where, in many musical examples, it is hard to separate timbre from the overall musical discourse.

A general, sonic physiognomy whose spectromorphological ensemble permits the attribution of an identity. (Source - Denis Smalley (1994). Defining Timbre - Refining Timbre. Contemporary Music Review Vol. 10, Part 2. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.)

Ensemble of the parameters of pitch, duration, amplitude, spectral components, dynamic evolution, etc. which determine the colour of a sound. (Source - Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques: http://www.dictionnairegram.org)

El término timbre ha sido usado, generalmente de modo poco consistente, para referirse muy vagamente al "color" del sonido. Frecuente e incorrectamente, ha sido tratado como un "parámetro" discreto del sonido, junto con otros aspectos como la frecuencia y la altura. La práctica creativa y la investigación en música electroacústica han revelado la naturaleza insatisfactoria de esta imprecisión, abriendo la noción a una situación mucho más compleja y proteica, donde el timbre existe en frágiles y continuas relaciones con la frecuencia, el contenido spectral, la identidad sonora y el reconocimiento de la fuente. Esto lleva a una situación donde, en muchos ejemplos musicales, es difícil separar al timbre del discurso musical general.

Una fisonomía sonora general cuyo conjunto espectromorfológico permite la atribución de una identidad. (Fuente: Denis Smalley (1994). Defining Timbre - Refining Timbre. Contemporary Music Review Vol. 10, Parte 2. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.)

Conjunto de los parámetros de altura, duración, amplitud, composición espectral, evolución dinámica, etc. que determinan el color de un sonido. (Fuente: Dictionnaire des arts médiatiques: http://www.dictionnairegram.org)