What is Tone Color? (Timbre)

[@UnderstandingMusic]

0:01 Introduction - Dueling Banjos 0:20 Banjo vs Guitar 0:38 Why does the banjo sound different than the guitar? 1:10 Tone Color and Timbre are the SAME THING 1:18 Tone Color Explained & Orchestration 1:44 Contrasting Tone Colors 2:01 How Composers Use Tone Color 2:10 Music Example of Different Tone Colors 2:27 Violin Playing the Melody 2:36 Trumpet Playing the Melody 2:50 Both the Violin & Trumpet Together for Mixed Tone Color 3:07 Tone Color Used to Create Mood 3:50 Outro

[@cooperdavis9663]

2:20 the trumpet definitely fits with the style of music better than the violin

[@smartwerker]

it depends on the "style" in which the violin is played as with the HIT SONG "OVERNIGHT CELEBRITY" by Twista

[@yohannag.7097]

This is the perfect video to help me get an A+ in my music class😁

[@UnderstandingMusic]

I hope so, and thank you for commenting! :)

[@jawanjames6502]

Same😂😂

[@pjsamith]

Exceptional video. Reading about tone color in Copland's book left me scratching my head. This video makes it crystal clear and I thank you. Well done!

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Thank you!

[@francescopagnini6230]

Explained in a easy way to understand. The comparison with painting is perfect. Thank you for this video :)

[@htscottone9600]

Thank you. You are a very good teacher. I have played guitar for many years. Your series of video's has filled in many gaps in my musical knowledge. Very interesting. At one time in my journey I said, I wish I had the internet when I was younger. Why wish? One never stops learning.

[@Paklite455]

I’m an Audio Engineering student and this explained Timbre really well. Very easy to understand and I love the examples you gave

[@amandajenks8868]

Thank you for posting! We are studying this right now, and it's a great addition to what is already written in the text.

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Glad it helped, and hope my other videos can assist you as well :)

[@skzpikapika]

Thank you, ive watched like 4 different videos on timbre but this one was the easiest to understand

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Awesome! And thank you for the comment :)

[@jamesh625]

Wow, your composition sounds like something straight out of Over the Garden Wall!

[@jaywoods4066]

James Hortle I wish he would release the full version of the song

[@jaywoods4066]

James Hortle and I agree, I instantly thought of over the garden wall

[@robbieclark7828]

Over the garden wall, two little lovebirds *pftt* cuckoo to you! Keep them mowin’ blades sharp!

[@kingnamor777]

Thank you for explaining in greater detail. It helps with my music class in college.

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Glad it helped, and feel free to ask questions in the comments as well.

[@twiglet2214]

Shiver me timbres Jim lad - that was very helpful and the tone colour view is easily accessible as a concept to help understanding. Thank you.

[@UnderstandingMusic]

You are welcome!

[@-taecup-6158]

I have an assessment coming up and this really helped me!! This video was great!

[@oscarkaiser8173]

Sana Nasir yes sir me tooo this guy is great

[@sqrt2167]

How is there not a comment which says: *Like if your teacher made you watch this*

[@cricketwithricky]

Mine made me watch it

[@TheChicks7]

Yes lol

[@howardjohnson2138]

I like the short piece you wrote - Thank you

[@Alex-di8ti]

Very interesting about the philosophy behind tone color. When I listen to music, in my minds eye I see different shades and textures of grey and silver

[@deathshead357]

That is called synesthesia. When you hear notes as colours. Jimi Hendrix was the same.

[@moonchild708]

synesthesia 😉 i have it, too, but not grey and silver

[@ongong6073]

Easy to understand with interesting illustration

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Thank you!

[@clxdyluv7673]

thank you, for explaining it it really helped me understand this. this video helped for my music assessment! :)

[@ayakmajok8337]

Wow, I had never known this is what composers do! Thanks for this knowledge.

[@Toothyc4nine]

Thank you so much this helped a lot with my music class❤️

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Glad to hear, and hope you continue to do well in your classes!

[@ultimatesurvivor2014]

Thank you so much it helped me a lot to understand what tone color is!

[@hz6612]

woow! thank you !! this is wisdom !

[@_AIAH_]

Is anyone here because of Seinfeld? In Season 3 Episode 16 around the 11:18 mark, George asks Jerry why he didnt tell him that a woman he was hooking him up with had such great Timbre. An argument than ensues between the two of them, "Is it Timbre or Tambre?" Thanks for settling this one for me.

[@plolochufu]

I'll learn everything but I'll never call it tam bre

[@nisakornquispe3964]

I like your videos!🤠

[@arturoaguilar9029]

Very fucking cool.

[@paulbarham1038]

Informative👍 Thank you.

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Appreciate it, and thank you for commenting! Be sure to check out my other content and subscribe if you haven't already :)

[@The_Field_Journey]

amazing man

[@KhanTaufiq]

Great explanation!

[@Ryker3]

Thank you!!

[@fernandogiongo]

Really well-made material, thank you.

[@zigstar91]

this actually helped with my music class

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Glad to hear! Thank you for commenting :)

[@zigstar91]

@@UnderstandingMusic :)

[@kivvx4134]

it's going down i'm yelling timbre!!

[@gregoryhenry8464]

I prefer the trumpet version

[@melmothmelmoth]

Obviously, you're not stupid! Everyone knows trumpet is the BEST!! haha

[@datGuy0309]

I liked the trumpet, but as a trumpet player I’m biased. I think it sounded to classical though and the player should have put a little more blues type musicality in it though.

[@aliciagamez4087]

okay..

[@KingsleyMusicLessons]

Thank you so much for this video.

[@BartholomewHunt87]

Very helpful explanation, thank you.

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Glad it helped, and thank you for your kind comment :)

[@Not2Ebrosgames]

Wow thanks for this vid it's useful to my assignment

[@amitaher3035]

Very clear and informative about timbre

[@heathstjohn6775]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@bpassion4fashion581]

Thank you so much . This was a great and clear explanation.

[@JJLemire]

I prefer the trumpet for your theme, more character. Professor, are you planning something like sonata, symphony, or particular piece, like a specific symphony or a concerto, like Brahms' symphonies.

[@deviscristiano8858]

Straight to the point and easy to understand, thank you!

[@LMShackers]

This is a great way to explain timbre - I love the idea of using the colours to show this. Thanks so much for sharing your video!

[@jessicaloman210]

I'm using this in my classroom to help teach my theory+composition students about timbre. Thanks so much!

[@UnderstandingMusic]

You are welcome! I hopefully will be back to making videos soon.

[@osi9567]

What an excellent video!

[@magpie7427]

great video!

[@abyssent]

learned alot more than i expected to from a video this short

[@aliciagamez4087]

im not

[@xmqciie]

good job

[@alexmwesa]

Excellent

[@giannatocalifeee_yt6946]

I mean I think all the persons who are here are because of music class

[@tomasserrano2710]

No, I for example study music independently

[@giannatocalifeee_yt6946]

@@tomasserrano2710 then why are u here?

[@Ryker3]

This helped me in my band class!!!

[@UnderstandingMusic]

So glad to hear! Thank you for commenting.

[@zachwilliam2996]

This is an excellent video

[@saral4517]

This is fantastic! And I love the piece you wrote! This is perfect for students. Thank you so much:-)

[@denzmadden]

Thank you

[@petervier]

nice video, though the sound of your voice recording seems a little thin. what mic do you use?

[@janglestick]

i enjoyed your music, and your demonstration of timbre, especially the mixing of the two. it's strange how it always evokes a sense of meaning, but quickly becomes overused and causes people to literally turn away. which of the two did you use? perhaps you can stick a cheaper mic out into the traffic and subtract it out yourself

[@PinoEspositoOntario]

Very well produced video. Easy enough for elementary school kids to follow but not dumbed down. Thanks!

[@mrav-kc3hr]

Yes

[@Bruno-hd9qo]

Another good example of color in music is Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach when played on the piano It's some kind of trend now a days. I liked a lot.

[@ArielLorusso]

Timber can be describes as amplitud and phase of the Main frequency multiple. And there is also Atack, Decay, Sustain, Release whit that you can sintetizase instruments

[@MiserableLittleDoomGoblin]

2:20 Composer: "I was trying to decide between violin and trumpet to play the melody." Viola players: 😥

[@kamsvision]

So Tambre is just accents for instruments?

[@eyre_]

'Timbre' may be pronounced 'tam-burr' in the US, but pretty much everywhere else in the English speaking world (except for possibly Australia - I'm not sure about them) uses the original French pronunciation 'Tahm-bruh' (that's not a perfect phonetic spelling but it's pretty close). Good video, though explaining it in terms of modern sound synthesis techniques and the theoretical work of Robert Moog could have made it clearer. Also, nice composition!

[@kettle2293]

Australia was TIMber when I was growing up.

[@xiaotingale4395]

This was extremely helpful. Thanks to this, I didn't fail my music class-

[@TheFerretofEarth]

So different color have different sounds?

[@SharockoRAZR]

So does every instrument have its own unique timbre? Is the timbre what identifies the type of instrument you're using? (not really an expert on music or anything just curious)

[@mariannek6735]

This was so interesting!

[@abhishekgoel8211]

Thanks for explaining in Detail.

[@matthewdavies269]

excellent

[@melmothmelmoth]

Perfect for my upcoming G3 class on timbre! Thanks!

[@xaladrez7811]

SaCrILiGeOuS blue violin

[@heallol860]

thank you✊🏾✊🏾

[@tristanlee3185]

nice video

[@MoromoMusic]

i want to hear his whole composition

[@oscarfernandoofpublicnature]

excellent, im a fan now!!

[@jennymachuca9025]

Nice

[@MawoDuffer]

If your song repeats the same melody many times then you need multiple counter melodies on different timbres for a person to change and listen too.

[@makonexuz9960]

Trumpet melody name please

[@OlaftheGreat]

Modern popular music is currently lacking in all timbre.

[@lanainmydreams]

Every voice/sound has a timbre

[@andy4dude]

so timbre or colour is the original or natural sound quality of a voice or an instrument. Pls correct me if i am wrong. Thanks for ur precious information❤️👍

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Basically, yes, it is quality of a sound that makes it unique. It is why you recognize a person without seeing him/her if you hear his/her voice - their voice is unique to them. It is why two different singers sound different even if they sing identical notes and why a choir sounds different than a solo singer. If you would like any more explanations, feel free to ask, and I hope my content helps you.

[@meiiyomi]

Nice video! But how do you use timbre to define music? Do you use adjectives? What kind? Like when someone asks "What is the tone color of this piece of music?".

[@meiiyomi]

Chris Wright Thanks! This helped me understand timbre more. ^^

[@meiiyomi]

Chris Wright Oh and btw, is it okay to give two ir more adjectives to desciribe a piece of music by using timbre? For example: a piece of music where it is mostly using the voice of many people, and the sound is sort of "rough". But although the voices were rough, they produced some sort of mellody. So, is it fine if I define the music piece's timbre as "rough but melodic"?

[@meiiyomi]

Chris Wright Oh okay, Thanks!

[@robertosanzcalle6724]

Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@vanilla5576]

Does the trumpet sound in orange while the violin sound in violet? Does tone color refer to specific colors or just describes the form of the sound?

[@vanilla5576]

@@UnderstandingMusic Thank you sir :D i just craved for visible colors but it's clear to me now. I can actually recognize tone colors and compare them but I didn't know they are tone colors. Thank you!

[@Alex1611AD]

But how does it work?

[@nathandavis3002]

I had always thought it was pronounced tom-bruh or tam-bruh. as if it were french. Is this in any way correct? tam-ber just sounds so ugly

[@shadowsetlover]

Ha! ME too!! :D

[@yejianyue]

Nope his pronunciation is fine. This word, timbre is from French. So your assumption of "as if it were French" IS correct. It should sounds like French.

[@samuelcolt1505]

I always said "Timber"

[@jamie6524]

Nathan Davis it is actually pronounce tam-bruh. He is pronouncing it incorrectly. Well maybe Forrest where he lives, but the correct pronunciation is tam-bruh. Not tam-ber.

[@Kleo3392]

It is French, but now we’re speaking English. Technically none of them are correct if by correct you mean “how it would be pronounced in French”. They’re all Anglicized approximations.

[@xyelite4384]

Thank you! this helped me do my assessments

[@abhay2887]

nice video, visualizing timbre in form of color is good way to decrease complexity of understanding it.

[@Frobbl]

What is the difference between timbre and pitch though? I mean I kinda hear the difference but can't explain it at all.

[@Frobbl]

Thank you! I think I understand, especially after playing around a bit with both.

[@TJ.Turner]

But why is Timbre pronounced Tambur?

[@WhiskyJapan]

Growing up in Western Canada it was always pronounced TIM ber.

[@aliyakamil-pb1pw]

0:23 - 0:27 0:28 0:30 2:30 2:38 2:45 3:00

[@angelobo]

So genres are tone color scemes?

[@mahroosalimi3449]

helpful and simply put for everyone to understand! Thank you!

[@caterscarrots3407]

I myself can tell the difference between a double bass playing 8va(an octave above what's written) and a cello playing loco(as written) but only once the cello reaches A3 and the double bass reaches A4(which sounds like A3 because it is on a double bass). When the cello reaches A3, it has a more violin-like timbre. Actually, it sort of sounds like a violin + a saxophone in terms of timbre and as the cello goes higher, the timbre becomes more similar to a saxophone even though a cello is a bowed string instrument and a saxophone is a woodwind instrument. But below A3, its timbre is so similar to a double bass playing 8va that I can't really tell the 2 apart until they both play loco and the octave difference becomes apparent. Maybe that is why it is so rare to hear a cello being played in the treble clef solo even though it can go from C2 to C6 Similarly, with a violin and a viola, the timbre is so similar. But with these 2 instruments, I can't tell them apart at any pitch in the playing range they share. Flute played 8va and piccolo played loco, again, can't tell them apart until the flute is played loco and the octave difference is apparent at F#6. But have both play lower than that F# and I can tell the 2 apart, and it becomes more dissimilar with the piccolo sounding more and more mellow than the flute as the pitch lowers.

[@omniscientomnipresent5500]

I finally know what it means. Thanks!

[@IndigoBassNotes]

thick rich indigo Bass

[@lollipop1108]

We watched this in class

[@anesu7480]

i learnt a lot in just 4 minutes this was a great video. Thank you

[@Smood47]

You didn't actually say what tone colour / timbre is.

[@Politickticktickin]

@@UnderstandingMusic That's too general and unspecific bro

[@bvip8309]

your video helped me for organizing my lesson about timbre,, Very informative! May I use your composition for my instructional video? Thank you so much!!!

[@UnderstandingMusic]

Thank you! Yes, you can use it. If you would like any of the files, let me know.

[@bvip8309]

@@UnderstandingMusic Awww :) Thank you so much!!

[@Mekratrig]

Then why isn’t it spelt tambre?

[@williamyelverton-music7072]

Some subscribe to the definition of 'vocal timbre' as Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass... isn't this a misnomer? What defines 'soprano' is the vocal pitch range, not the timbre/tone color. Text definition for timbre = "the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity, the quality given to a sound by its overtones" Pitch range may affect timbre but timbre is distinct and independent of pitch range. (For example the timbre of 2 singers in the tenor range can be totally different). Timbre alone does not define a vocal tenor. So why do some people define 'vocal timbre' as Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass? Isn't this really a misnomer?

[@mudirakatshittu7601]

wow