Question

Which characteristic of sound enables us to distinguish two musical notes coming from different sources but having the same frequency and loudness?

• A. Timber
• B. Pitch
• C. Loudness
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A Timber

Answer is A.
Quality is that characteristic of a musical sound which enables us to distinguish between the sounds produced by two different musical instruments or two different persons although their pitch and loudness may be same.
he quality depends primarily on the waveform of the sound. The waveform of the sound emitted by a tuning fork is a simple sine curve. But most bodies vibrate in a very complex manner. Besides the fundamental frequency f, they consist of additional frequencies of 2f, 3f, 4f, etc. These additional tones are called overtones or harmonics. According to Helmholtz, the quality of a musical note is determined by the number, relative frequency and intensities of the component simple tones of which a complex vibration is composed of.
Hence, timbre of sound enables us to distinguish two musical notes coming from different sources but having the same frequency and loudness.