Loudness levels of orchestral instruments.
Andrzej Miśkiewicz, Andrzej Z. Rakowski · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1992
The loudness levels of nonpercussive orchestral instruments were calculated from 1/3-octave-band sound pressure levels using Zwicker’s method, as well as Stevens’ Mark VI and Mark VII procedures. The sounds measured were scale segments played pianissimo and fortissimo in various pitch registers. Calculated for bowed instruments, the bassoon, and the oboe, the loudness of scales performed at a constant playing level is nearly invariant in different pitch registers. In contrast, for the flute, clarinet, and brass instruments, the loudness level markedly increases with increases in pitch. Zwicker’s method generally yields higher values of loudness level than both of Stevens’ procedures. The differences between Zwicker’s and Stevens’ phons are more pronounced in the low-pitch registers than in the higher ones. Moreover, due to specific spectral characteristics of musical sounds, for most instruments the dynamic range of loudness predicted by Stevens’ procedures is larger than the corresponding range predicted by Zwicker’s method. [Research supported in part by NIH Grant No. R01NS07270.]