tone color

noun

, Music.

1. tone quality; timbre.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tone color¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

These segments diverge in tone, color and movement from the muted palette and fixed compositions with which cinematographer Steve Cosens girds the biographical narrative.

From Los Angeles Times

His tone color on the piano can shift from vinegary to supple in seconds.

From New York Times

“From the jump, he was much, much more interested in directorial stuff — bigger-picture stuff, tone, color,” Berg says in an April call.

From Los Angeles Times

Each voice has a unique tone color that is described using adjectives or metaphors such as “nasally,” “resonant,” “vibrant,” “strident,” “high,” “low,” “breathy,” “piercing,” “ringing,” “rounded,” “warm,” “mellow,” “dark,” “bright,” “heavy,” “light,” “vibrato.”

From Literature

The 16-inch screen features both True Tone color correction, which automatically tunes the temperature of your display based on your surroundings, and ProMotion, which offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

From The Verge

Related Words

• timbre