what is timbre in music

Timbre, also known as tone color or tone quality, is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound, or tone. It is what makes a particular musical instrument or human voice have a different sound from another, even when they play or sing the same note. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musical instruments. Timbre is unique to each instrument and can be hard to quantify, which is why it cant be written down on a piece of sheet music. Some of the many words used to describe the timbre of instruments include rich, bright, mellow, dark, buzzy, and warm. When describing a sound's timbre, words like sharp, round, reedy, brassy, or bright are used. Timbre also includes the way the sound changes over time, such as attack and fade. Different instruments can play the exact same piece of music and sound remarkably distinct because they have different timbres.