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[narrator] Then there's timbre

Then there's timbre, the quality of soundthat distinguishes pitch -if played on a...

Explained • S01E20 • 2018

[narrator] Then there's timbre, the quality of sound
that distinguishes pitch -if played on a bassoon...
-[deep, warm note] -baritone sax...
-[lighter note] or a bowl. [ringing note] [narrator] Most people perceive timbre
like they perceive color. It's a thing you can name. [voices harmonize] [narrator] Lots of animals can process
one or more of these components. Some types of crabs and fireflies
synchronize with each other, but only at one tempo. Some birds, like Snowball,
can feel a beat, but have no understanding
of relative pitch. Rhesus monkeys
can understand octave equivalence, but can't feel a beat. Combined with our capacity
for language and memory, only humans
put the entire puzzle together. ♪ And for realla, baby... ♪

Full Transcript

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.335

[narrator] Then there's timbre,

00:00:02.543 --> 00:00:04.067

the quality of sound that distinguishes pitch

00:00:04.921 --> 00:00:06.881

-if played on a bassoon... -[deep, warm note]

00:00:06.964 --> 00:00:08.466

-baritone sax... -[lighter note]

00:00:08.591 --> 00:00:09.055

or a bowl. [ringing note]

00:00:10.718 --> 00:00:13.346

[narrator] Most people perceive timbre like they perceive color.

00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:14.847

It's a thing you can name.

00:00:14.931 --> 00:00:17.475

[voices harmonize]

00:00:18.601 --> 00:00:21.687

[narrator] Lots of animals can process one or more of these components.

00:00:22.605 --> 00:00:25.983

Some types of crabs and fireflies synchronize with each other,

00:00:26.651 --> 00:00:28.236

but only at one tempo.

00:00:28.736 --> 00:00:31.239

Some birds, like Snowball, can feel a beat,

00:00:31.697 --> 00:00:34.158

but have no understanding of relative pitch.

00:00:35.118 --> 00:00:37.703

Rhesus monkeys can understand octave equivalence,

00:00:37.954 --> 00:00:39.033

but can't feel a beat.

00:00:40.456 --> 00:00:42.708

Combined with our capacity for language and memory,

00:00:43.292 --> 00:00:45.753

only humans put the entire puzzle together.

00:00:47.171 --> 00:00:49.548

♪ And for realla, baby... ♪

Duration

50 seconds

Views

40

Timestamp in Movie

00:07:50

Uploaded

Jun 27, 2025

Season

1

Episode

20

Genres

Production

Amicus Productions

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Movie Summary

A documentary series that looks to explore the big questions of today.