What is Practice Partner's Timbre Spectrum?
Practice Partner's Timbre Spectrum is used to display graphically a representation of the
constituent parts of an audio sample's timbre (sound colour) proportionately
against an eleven octave piano keyboard. In other words, every monosonic audio
(single notes - not chords) sample at any particular point in time is actually
made up of a collection of various frequencies (pitches) at varying intensities
(strengths). The human ear very cleverly hears only one pitch being sounded but
the timbre (sound colour) of the audio is determined by the combination of the
audio's various frequency's intensities. This is why an oboe playing an A and a
flute playing an A sound the same pitch but their individual timbres are quite
different.
The Timbre Spectrum can be used to:
- Display the timbre
(sound colour) of an audio sample in a graphical form, with the fundamental being
highlighted against an 11 octave piano keyboard
- The audio sample can be either from a live source or from an audio file
- Continuous or single audio samples can be analyzed for their timbre
- The timbre displayed can be saved and re-loaded
- The background noise level can be adjusted (reduced)
Click on the image fragments to the right to see full screen shots of Practice Partner's Timbre Spectrum and its associated File Analysis screen shot.
How does the Timbre Spectrum help me?
The Timbre Spectrum displays an audio sample's constituent individual
frequencies at their relative intensities in comparison to a familiar piano
keyboard, so that you can see graphically how your timbre differs from that of
another musician's timbre that you admire. This can help you to make any
necessary changes or improvements in how you actually sound (your timbre),
which is of course the most important aspect of your practice and
is why the Timbre Spectrum is placed before even the Tuner or Metronome in Practice Partner.