Qualitative Descriptions of Short Bursts of Sound
Abe Pepinsky · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1954
Serious attempts have been made to choose adjectives which might adequately describe the quality of complex notes. Such studies have dealt largely with musical sounds of considerable duration. However, short bursts of sound, of the order of magnitude of a few milliseconds, offer new problems because of frequency side bands of energy. The form of the intensity gradient is found to be an important factor characterizing the sound. Oscilloscopic examination of such bursts of sound presents envelopes whose shapes correlate well with the definition of quality. Although permissive utilization of adjectives seems to depend mainly on the individual's interests and experience, a list of adjectives was finally agreed upon which serve quite well in differenciating the various qualities.