Directional tone color
Gabriel Weinreich · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1997
Above about 1 kHz, the angular radiation pattern of a violin begins to vary rapidly not only with direction but also with frequency, typically changing drastically from one semitone to the next. In an enclosed space, this characteristic, which we have named “directional tone color,” can sometimes produce the illusion that each note played by a solo violin comes from a different direction, endowing fast passages with a special flashing brilliance. It also has important consequences for the perception of vibrato, for the difference in sound between a solo violin and an orchestral section playing in unison, for the problem of reproducing violin sounds through a loudspeaker, and possibly for the mysterious quality called “projection.” This paper introduces the theoretical basis of directional tone color, presents data to support its existence, and discusses the various ways in which it can be musically important.