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The present study explored whether musicians could (1) differentiate among the timbres of bass tubas of a single design, but constructed of different materials, (2) determine differences within certain ranges and articulations, and (3) possess different perceptual abilities depending on previous experience in low brass performance. Findings indicated that (1) tubas made to the same specifications and constructed of the same material differed as much as those of made to the same specifications, constructed of different materials; 2) significant differences in perceptibility which occurred among tubas were inconsistent across ranges and articulations, and differed due to phrase type and the specific tuba on which the phrase was played; 3) low brass players did not differ from other auditors in their perception of timbral differences.

Researchers have investigated harnessing computers as a tool to aid in the composition of music for over 70 years. In major part, such research has focused on creating algorithms to work with pitches and rhythm, which has resulted in a selection of sophisticated systems. Although the musical possibilities of these systems are vast, they are not directly considering another important characteristic of sound. Timbre can be defined as all the sound attributes, except pitch, loudness and duration, which allow us to distinguish and recognize that two sounds are dissimilar. This feature plays an essential role in combining instruments as it involves mixing instrumental properties to create unique textures conveying specific sonic qualities. Within this thesis, we explore harnessing techniques for the analysis and control of instrumental timbre and timbral combinations. This thesis begins with investigating the link between musical timbre, auditory perception and psychoacoustics for sounds emerging from instrument mixtures. It resulted in choosing to use verbal descriptors of timbral qualities to represent auditory perception of instrument combination sounds. Therefore, this thesis reports on the developments of methods and tools designed to automatically retrieve and identify perceptual qualities of timbre within audio files, using specific musical acoustic features and artificial intelligence algorithms. Different perceptual experiments have been conducted to evaluate the correlation between selected acoustics cues and humans' perception. Results of these evaluations confirmed the potential and suitability of the presented approaches. Finally, these developments have helped to design a perceptually-orientated generative system harnessing aspects of artificial intelligence to combine sampled instrument notes. The findings of this exploration demonstrate that an artificial intelligence approach can help to harness the perceptual aspect of instrumental timbre and timbral combinations. This investigation suggests that established methods of measuring timbral qualities, based on a diverse selection of sounds, also work for sounds created by combining instrument notes. The development of tools designed to automatically retrieve and identify perceptual qualities of timbre also helped in designing a comparative scale that goes towards standardising metrics for comparing timbral attributes. Finally, this research demonstrates that perceptual characteristics of timbral qualities, using verbal descriptors as a representation, can be implemented in an intelligent computing system designed to combine sampled instrument notes conveying specific perceptual qualities.

This paper presents a discussion of functional silence in contemporary classical music with a particular focus on the music of Salvatore Sciarrino and Jürg Frey, two composers whose drastically-contrasting bodies of work both occupy the interstitial space between the audible and inaudible. To begin, I address three main questions: what are the functions of silence in a musical context, how do the characteristics of a work affect our perception of these silences, and how do these functions relate to our perception of music on the edge of silence. In answering these first two questions, I discuss three categories of silence---temporal, spatial, and gestural---which I use in a silence-centric analyses of Sciarrino's Let me die before I wake, Allegoria della notte, and Infinito Nero, as well as Frey's Streichquarttet III. To further apply these concepts to music on the edge of silence, I provide a fourth category---timbral silence---which describes the perception of absence or silence within the presence of sound and allows for the application of existing functional principles of silence to sounding events. In turn, this allows us to understand the music of Sciarrino and Frey in terms of timbral completion and timbral dissolution, respectively. Having established a theoretical framework for understanding the function of silence, the second half of this paper discusses the composition of A Moment on the In-between, my 2018 work for string quartet, with a focus on the intentional application of these principles of functional silence within the piece.

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / La problématique de cette thèse concerne le lexique descripteur de timbre, ses définitions, ainsi que les stratégies d’enseignement de la production sonore à la guitare classique. Notre méthodologie est issue de la recherche par les méthodes mixtes, en ce sens qu’elle combine à la fois des données qualitatives et quantitatives, tandis que nos méthodes relèvent de différentes disciplines. En effet, la présente recherche est ancrée dans le domaine de la musicologie de l’interprétation, alors qu’elle porte plus exactement sur la conceptualisation des nuances de timbre à la guitare classique par les guitaristes classiques. La construction de cette recherche repose sur trois études distinctes. La première de ces études porte sur l’analyse d’adjectifs employés pour décrire les nuances de timbre ainsi que leurs définitions d’après des guitaristes classiques. Les résultats démontrent que la construction du lexique descripteur de timbre se rapporte principalement à la matière, renforçant ainsi la conception du timbre en tant que matière sonore. En ce qui concerne l’interaction entre le timbre et les autres paramètres sonores, une analyse du discours et des thèmes émergents a dévoilé l’importance du registre, de l’intensité et de la durée dans la définition du timbre. La mise en place d’un second questionnaire a permis de mieux définir encore les caractéristiques du vocabulaire descripteur du timbre de la guitare classique. En l’occurrence, la distribution des catégories lexicales a démontré que les adjectifs renvoient à une description souvent métaphorique du timbre alors que les substantifs rendent essentiellement compte de la technique instrumentale. Pour définir les nuances de timbre, les guitaristes classiques ont communément recours aux paramètres sonores, aux modes de production ainsi qu’à d’autres descripteurs de timbre. Notre analyse a par ailleurs mené à la construction d’un dictionnaire terminologique de huit nuances de timbre (métallique, rond, brillant, mince, sec, velouté, sombre et sourd). Finalement, l’élaboration d’un espace sémantique du timbre à partir de l’évaluation de la proximité sémantique de ces huit descripteurs de timbre révèle deux axes principaux, le premier est défini par la présence de l’attaque et le point de pincement, alors que le second se rapporte à la résonance, à la projection ainsi qu’aux jugements de valeur. La troisième et dernière étude porte sur les stratégies de communication employées dans le cadre de deux classes de maître. Les résultats de notre analyse mettent en évidence l’exploitation de trois modalités principales visant à expliciter la production sonore ainsi qu’à caractériser le rendement musical. Les professeurs analysés ont ainsi recours à l’explication verbale, à la démonstration instrumentale ainsi qu’à la vocalisation, voire à l’imitation. En définitive, notre recherche a permis d’illustrer que la conceptualisation des nuances de timbre se rapporte à la matière, aux paramètres sonores, à la description métaphorique, ainsi qu’aux modes de production. Une conceptualisation aussi inclusive permettrait d’accéder à toutes les subtilités de la production et de la perception sonore. En ce qui a trait à la communication, les nuances de timbre s’explicitent à travers la verbalisation, l’exécution ainsi que la vocalisation ou encore l’imitation. / This thesis is about the lexicon of timbre descriptors, its definitions, and teaching strategies regarding sound production of the classical guitar. Our methodology is based on mixed methods research, in that it combines both qualitative and quantitative data, while our methods are derived from different disciplines. This research is grounded in musicology of performance and focuses more specifically on the conceptualization of classical guitar timbral nuances by classical guitar players. The design of this research is based on three separate studies. The first study focuses on the analysis of adjectives used to describe timbral nuances and their definitions from classical guitarists. The results demonstrate that the construction of the lexicon of timbre descriptors relates primarily to matter, thus reinforcing the concept of timbre as sound matter. Regarding the interaction between timbre and other sound parameters, a discourse and emergent themes analysis has revealed the importance of register, intensity and duration in the definition of timbre. The implementation of a second questionnaire helped to define further the characteristics of the timbre descriptor vocabulary of the classical guitar. The distribution of lexical categories showed that adjectives often refer to a metaphorical timbre description while nouns essentially give an account of the instrumental technique. To define timbral nuances, classical guitarists commonly use sound parameters, production modes and other descriptors of timbre. Following those results, a terminological dictionary of 8 timbral nuances (metallic, round, bright, thin, dry, velvety, dark and dull) was also proposed. Finally, the development of a semantic space of timbre from the evaluation of semantic proximity between those 8 timbre descriptors reveals two main axis, the first is defined by the presence of the attack and the plucking position, while the second refers to the resonance, the projection and the value judgment. The third and final study examines the communication strategies used in the context of two master classes. The results of our analysis highlight the use of three main ways to explain the sound production and to characterize the musical performance. The participating professors have recourse to verbal explanation, instrumental demonstration as well as vocalization or imitation. Our research has demonstrated that the conceptualization of timbre nuances refers to matter, sound parameters, metaphorical descriptions, as well as production modes. Such an inclusive conceptualization allows access to all the subtleties of the production and perception of classical guitar. In regards to communication, timbral nuances are expressed by verbalization, performance as well as vocalization or imitation.

This dissertation explores the analysis and creation of compositions from the standpoint of texture and momentum. It is comprised of four chapters. The first presents a number of concepts as tools for analysis, including textural typography and transformation, perception of time and psychological engagement of an audience, and respiration as a metaphor for musical momentum. The second and third chapters apply these tools to Gerard Grisey's "Periodes" and "Partiels," and Brian Ferneyhough's "Lemma-Icon-Epigram." The fourth explores specific methodologies used in composing my dissertation piece, "Phase," including the application of number systems ranging from formal to local levels.