Question

In an orchestra, the musical sounds of different instruments are distinguished from one another by which of the following characteristics?
A. Pitch
B. Loudness
C. Quality
D. Overtones

Answer 1

Hint:We know that we can play a musical instrument with the same loudness and pitch. But still they will produce a different sound from their ends.Pitch and loudness seem to be the same sometimes, but they are not exactly the same. They differ on the basis of their tone quality. The pitch of a sound is our ear’s response to the frequency of sound. Whereas loudness depends on the energy of the wave.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we are given the situation, in which the musical sounds of the different instruments are distinguished from one another. We are required to find the reason for which the musical sounds of different instruments are heard in a different way, which can be distinguished from each other.

To begin with, we will discuss the following terms which are related to sound. After we get to know the terms well, then we can definitely answer the question.

Pitch: Pitch is a subjective feature of sounds that helps them to be organised on a frequency-related scale, or more frequently, pitch is the characteristic that makes it possible to judge sounds in the way associated with musical melodies as “higher and lower”. Only sounds that have a frequency that is consistent and steady enough to discern from noise may determine pitch.

Loudness: Loudness refers to how a sound seems to a listener to be noisy or quiet. In contrast, the loudness of the sound is determined by the volume, or sum of energy, in the vibrations of the sound. The intensity unit is the decibel.

Quality: There are qualities of each voice. These characteristics apply to various elements of the voice, such as amplitude or length. Four sound qualities are available: pitch, length, intensity and timbre.

Overtones: An overtone is any frequency which is greater than a sound's fundamental frequency.

From the above explanation, we can say that quality is the property from which, even though they are similarly noisy and shrill, two sounds can appear different.

Hence, the correct option is C.

Note: It is important to remember that suppose you play a note with a flute and a sitar. Even if the two notes are of the same loudness and tone, they sound distinct. This is due to the difference in quality.