This is an interactive listening game called Timbre forensics. Identify instruments based on sound. Use mouse clicks to play. Alternatively, you can use your computer keyboard if that’s easier.
Match the correct instrument to the audio sample. Select from a candidate list. Each sample is artificially created in real-time. So it’s a new experience every time.
How to Play Timbre Forensics
You can make quick and easy decisions on the keyboard map. You can play by clicking buttons with your mouse or using your keyboard. Use the one to nine number keys. Selects an instrument candidate. Letter E will play the sound again. Letter C loads in another case. Use standard arrow keys for the dropdown menus. Use Enter to choose options. Use Enter or Space for all main action buttons. Tab through the interface if you prefer.
To play, click on the excite button (the E key). That will play the mystery instrument. Its pitch will be set according to the setting currently in use. Listen carefully to the attack and to the decay.
How does it begin? That’s the attack. Maybe it starts with a breathy flute. Maybe it’s a sharp pluck of a guitar string. How does it fade away? That’s the decay. Does it drop off quickly? Does it stay the same? Do it again if necessary, and do it before guessing.
The harmonic scan provides visual evidence. Helps your decision process. Click the run harmonic scan button. This will show more of the sound structure. First, you see what is called a scan for attack and decay characteristics. These are shown in the readout panel. Next, you see the spectral profile. This displays as bars in the waveform area. Each of the scans costs you points from your score. Use them wisely. Only scan when the audio does not convince.
Evidence Level Setting controls information flow by determining what is revealed automatically. Blank Slate provides sound only with no visual clues. Envelope Clue provides textual hints about attack and decay. Full Spectrum Report provides all evidence with all info visible from the beginning. Increasing evidence levels lower point value. Adjust to balance guidance with difficulty.
Change the pitch. In the forensic register dropdown select one of A3, A4 or A5. This alters frequency from 220 Hz through to 880 Hz. Often the pitch alters the timbre of the instrument. More overtones are heard in higher registers. Harshness can also be revealed in higher registers. The fundamental tone may be emphasized in lower registers. Experiment with different registers and see what stays the same. Which timbre cues do you find consistent?
You can adjust volume with the master monitor slider. If the volume of a sample is too high, drag it down and to the left. If the volume of a sample is too low, drag it up and to the right. Once you set the volume, that volume will stay regardless of how many times you change cases. No need to adjust volume on each instrument. It keeps everything at a listenable level throughout your working session.
On the right hand side are the candidate buttons. Each button matches an available instrument model. Simply click on the one that matches the sample. If you’re right, the button will turn green. You are awarded points. If not, your choice turns red and the correct answer is highlighted. Your selection is then highlighted and the correct answer appears.
Get this wrong and your streak starts again. Getting them right every time means a longer streak. They have a score and a streak counter to track how well you’re doing. You get points for getting the answer right. A correct answer earns 4 points, minus one point for each scan. There is a field labeled “evidence cost” that tells you what that is. Clean streak tracks how many right in a row you’ve gotten on cases. That helps you judge your progress. Those measures track your progress in developing as an ear trainer.
Click on the fullscreen button, which will enlarge the game. Fullscreen fills up your monitor. It is handy on small screens. It is also handy when trying to concentrate. Concentrate on visual cues and sound clues. Click again on the fullscreen button to return to normal mode.
Clicking on how to play pops out the help panel. The help panel provides a quick control reference. Also includes tips on picking up timbre cues. Leave it up if you’re just learning to identify.
Listen for unique characteristics of each one. For example, woodwind instruments will commonly have a breathy attack. Some will also have specific patterns of overtones. The same goes for brass instruments, which are more likely to have a bright attack and many harmonics. Strings can be played with a gradual bowing attack or a sharp pluck. Percussion instruments, such as the marimba, also have ringing decays and inharmonic colors. Listen for those kinds of characteristics to help you narrow it down before you scan through.
Solve by listening only: this is raw ear. Rely on the audio and your memory of instrument sounds. Try and solve using just your memory of what instruments sounded like. If it’s difficult, switch to the envelope clue. You can also use the full spectrum report. Use scans only when in doubt. This maximises your score. It also allows you to learn from feedback.
After every guess, review the evidence. This reinforces what you heard. It works on all kinds of screens, even touch devices. It’s flexible. It will adapt itself to whatever screen you play on. Buttons are big enough that you’ll easily hit them by accident.
If you have an external keyboard, we’ve got keyboard mappings. That accessibility makes a lot of sense for this kind of game. Make sure you adjust your volume accordingly though. Plug in some headphones or check your speakers.
To play again, simply click on “Load another case.” Or if you prefer, hit the letter “C” and it will reset the score for that round. Then there’s a new mystery instrument. All the old evidence is gone. Hit the letter “E,” and you’ll hear the new sample. And you have all the time in the world to figure it out. Play again and again as you want.
Watch the readout panel following every guess. The readout provides the real spectrum and type of attack. It displays family, decay, and more. Adjust your expectation based on what you see here.
See how the text correlates to the spectrum bars? If the spectrum is led by the fundamental, then the first bar will be tall. If it’s an odd-harmonic spectrum, then the bars alternate between short and tall. This makes it easier to identify.
As you play, it changes to show you what’s happening in real-time. The bars show the partials. Their height matches their amplitude or strength. It enables you to link your eyes and ears together. For example, it helps you differentiate between like attacks.
When the scan is running look at the form of the spectrum. To see how it works, you can switch between different registers to change the pitch of the sample. Some instruments change as they get to lower and higher pitches. The flute for example, sounds breathy at A4. It sounds clearer at A5. Whereas maybe the clarinet begins to lose its odd-harmonic character at higher notes. Try swapping them around and grow your knowledge this way. It adds an educational layer to the game.
Monitor volume should be comfortable. Audio is made on the fly by the synthesis engine. There’s little chance of sudden loudness, but it could happen. If you’re hearing distortion, adjust the slider. This is a game where your own ears are your best tools. Treat them kindly and keep things reasonable. Keeping levels the same will allow you to compare fairly.
There are nine different types of instruments in this list alone. These include larger instrument families such as brass and woodwind. Other instruments such as percussion and strings also feature here. Expect to hear instruments such as a clarinet, flute, oboe and trumpet. There’s the violin and the odd choice of nylon guitar. There is a piano too. For tuned percussion try the marimba. Keyboards have the tonewheel organ. Get familiar with these. It helps you identify them quicker.
It’s about scoring efficiently and accurately. More points are earned for getting it correct the first time, fewer for using one scan, even less for two scans. A miss resets the streak. There is no penalty to the overall score. Aim to build up your streak. Your streak shows you’re consistently skilled at this.
The score counter provides immediate feedback on your performance. While playing, there’s no movement of the interface. There are just text readouts and waveform bars that change. It doesn’t distract you from what you hear. Your focus stays on the audio. No flashing lights here either. The color palette is easy on the eyes.
Dark mode is the default setting. If you prefer light mode, it switches on automatically. That way you can see it no matter what kind of light you’re in.
After every guess, read what it says about the instrument in the feedback message. Was it right? Wrong? Did it identify any specific characteristics of the instrument? Was it bright? Was it a breathy attack? That feedback is a little lesson. Take it to heart and use it for the next try. You learn more from mistakes than success.
This is the help panel. If you need keyboard shortcut reminders, this one’s got ‘em covered. It also displays every control function along with their key mapping. Expand or collapse it anytime. It doesn’t affect your in-game state. While learning the controls, keep it up and handy. Later, hide it for a cleaner view of things. Remember, the game is intuitive. That doesn’t mean a reference isn’t useful though.
Each instrument is modelled as a collection of sine waves, which is what a synth does. Each one has noise too. This gives a sense of how instruments behave acoustically. Attack and decay times are set to match common playing techniques. Noise represents friction from the bow or breath. Filter cutoff controls the brightness of the sound. All this makes it realistic enough to train your ear to listen for those clues.
Rest if you’re tired of listening. You’ll get tired if you listen to too many samples at once. You might even become less able to hear the difference. Take a break for a couple minutes. When you come back, you’ll probably have improved perception. Better to practice regularly rather than marathoning it.
Compete against your friends. Compare their scores with yours. Compete against each other. Try to get the longest streak. Have some friendly competition. See who’s got the best ear. The game is a fun way to learn. Afterward, you can discuss the clues and talk about what you learned. Why does a clarinet sound different than a trumpet? Discuss it! It all adds up to making training more engaging because of its social component.
Get familiar with the range of available widgets. Don’t simply click around. Engage and explore by purposefully using the controls to try different things. Predict what the spectrum will look like first, then scan it to see how close you were. Predict what type of attack it’s going to be without even hearing it yet. Your ears will get stronger this way. It’ll help you spot similarities more quickly.
Timbre forensics will help train your ears. Set the difficulty to your level. Set it high if you’re just starting. It will guide you and take some of the frustration out of the process. As you get better, lower it. Push it all the way down to sound only and see how well you can do. Add another layer by trying the register selector on. That gives an additional challenge so you know for sure you are picking timbre rather than register. This will give you a more solid grasp of it.
It runs on any current web browser, and no installation or plugin is needed. Just go to the page and it is up and running. Bookmark it for easy access. Go back as much as you want to practice and improve your skills. Randomly generates cases, so you’ll never repeat exactly the same sequence again. It keeps it interesting and fresh.
Pay attention to what makes the instruments distinctive. Direct attack, like the oboe’s reediness. Breathiness (like the flute’s softness). Brightness, like the trumpet’s bite. Gradualness, like the violin’s bowing. You’ll see words that describe these things come into the readout. Pair it with sound. Use this mental association to help you identify instruments. Repetition reinforces the pairing in the game.
Adjust the volume accordingly. Match it to other sounds in your environment. Multitask? Turn it down a little so loud samples don’t scare the crap out of you. Focus just on the game? Turn it up and let’s get those subtle sounds in there. Make sure your playback device can reproduce low frequencies. This will help you better discern the fundamentals.
The game does not save progress across sessions. Your current progress isn’t saved between sessions. Reload the page, and your streak and score are back to zero. Consider it a new session every time. That way, you can’t get frustrated if you lose some points. It lets you play without pressure, too, so you focus more on learning than on racking up points. The feedback is what’s educational here, right now. The score itself is secondary motivation. It’s about training your ear and learning timbre.
Learning about instruments makes you appreciate music more. It helps you identify parts of any recording that you might not have noticed before. It teaches you to listen, and you improve at this game through practice. For Producers and Musicians, it is a valuable tool. It is for listeners too. It allows you to connect more closely with the music you are listening to.
Try it out yourself by pressing play below. Press the button that says, “excite”, to listen to the example. Pay attention to the way the note starts and fades. Guess if you know, or try the scan to give you a clue. Since every sample is synthesized live, there’s no limit to the examples you can play. When you’re ready the game will begin. A single note is all it takes to start your trip into the world of timbres. Dive right in and see where it leads you.