Music Transcription Instrument Identification and Timbre 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A transcriber hears a woodwind instrument with a rich, reedy tone playing in the tenor register. The sound has a slight buzz quality but is fuller than an oboe. What is this instrument most likely?
- Cor anglais (English horn) (Correct answer)
- Tenor saxophone
- Bass oboe
- Heckelphone
Correct answer: Cor anglais (English horn)
The cor anglais (English horn) is the tenor member of the oboe family, with a fuller, darker, slightly more mellow tone than the oboe but retaining its characteristic reedy quality.
Question 2: In spectral analysis used for instrument identification, what does a 'inharmonic' spectrum indicate about a sound source?
- The overtones are exact integer multiples of the fundamental
- The overtones do not fall on exact integer multiples of the fundamental (Correct answer)
- The sound has no overtones above the fundamental
- The fundamental frequency is stronger than all overtones
Correct answer: The overtones do not fall on exact integer multiples of the fundamental
Inharmonic spectra occur when partials deviate from perfect integer ratios, common in bells, marimbas, and piano strings, giving them their characteristic bell-like or metallic quality.
Question 3: When transcribing a guitar piece, the score indicates 'harm. 12' above a note. What does this instruct the player to do?
- Play the 12th fret with full finger pressure
- Lightly touch the string at the 12th fret to produce a harmonic (Correct answer)
- Strum 12 strings simultaneously
- Play the chord in 12th position
Correct answer: Lightly touch the string at the 12th fret to produce a harmonic
The notation 'harm. 12' instructs the guitarist to lightly touch the string directly above the 12th fret without pressing down, producing a natural harmonic that sounds an octave above the open string.
Question 4: Which of the following instrument families would most likely be notated in bass clef for their standard range?
- Flute and oboe
- Violin and viola
- Tuba and contrabassoon (Correct answer)
- Trumpet and clarinet
Correct answer: Tuba and contrabassoon
The tuba and contrabassoon both operate in the lowest registers of their instrument families, making bass clef the standard notation clef for their written parts.
Question 5: A music transcriber is working with a recording where a stringed instrument produces a buzzing, sitar-like timbre even though the recording was made in a Western context. What technique might cause this?
- Pizzicato with the thumbnail
- Snap pizzicato (Bartók pizzicato) (Correct answer)
- Playing behind the nut
- Scordatura tuning
Correct answer: Snap pizzicato (Bartók pizzicato)
Snap pizzicato (Bartók pizzicato) involves pulling the string far enough that it snaps back against the fingerboard, producing a sharp crack with a buzzing overtone sometimes compared to a sitar.
Question 6: In identifying instruments by timbre during transcription, which feature of the attack transient is MOST useful for distinguishing between bowed and plucked string instruments?
- The pitch of the attack
- The speed and shape of the amplitude envelope's onset (Correct answer)
- The dynamic level of the attack
- The register in which the attack occurs
Correct answer: The speed and shape of the amplitude envelope's onset
Plucked strings have a near-instantaneous amplitude spike followed by decay, while bowed strings build up more gradually; this difference in attack envelope shape is the primary distinguishing feature.
Question 7: A transcriber hears what sounds like a flute but notices the tone has a slightly rougher, more breathy quality in the middle register with an audible air sound. This is most characteristic of which instrument?
- Concert flute played with normal embouchure
- Alto flute
- Shakuhachi or bamboo flute (Correct answer)
- Recorder played softly
Correct answer: Shakuhachi or bamboo flute
The shakuhachi and other end-blown bamboo flutes naturally incorporate breath noise and a rougher, more variable timbre as a tonal quality, unlike the concert flute's more refined, even tone.
Music Transcription Instrument Identification and Timbre 5
A transcriber hears a woodwind instrument with a rich, reedy tone playing in the tenor register.
The sound has a slight buzz quality but is fuller than an oboe.
What is this instrument most likely?