Creating novel tones from adjectives: An exploratory study using FM synthesis.

Abstract

Perceptual studies of timbre semantics have revealed certain consistencies in the linguistic concep-tualization of acoustic attributes. In the standard experimental paradigm, participants hear timbral stimuli and provide behavioral responses. However, it remains unclear the extent to which descriptive consistency would be observed if this paradigm were reversed, that is, if participants were instructed to create novel timbres in response to target adjectives. Given an unfamiliar synthesis interface, would musically trained participants craft similar timbral profiles for the same familiar adjectives? In this study, we explore timbre semantics using a novel frequency modulation (FM) synthesis production task. Participants ( N (cid:2) 64) created unique timbral outputs in response to 20 common timbre descriptors drawn from orchestration treatises (e.g., brilliant , dull , harsh ). Acoustic analyses of the resultant 1,280 signals, in conjunction with linear mixed-effects modeling and clustering analysis, indicate that participants were moderately consistent in their timbral creations. Word valence and arousal interacted to influence average spectral centroid and noisiness. Specifically, clearly positive and negative words produced significantly different acoustical profiles than more affectively neutral words. This result confirms a number of findings from the perceptual literature while offering preliminary evidence that affective dimensions of timbre semantics sys- tematically influence sound production in an unfamiliar context. subcluster suggests commonalities in acoustic profiles for these three words.