Tonparameter

Tonparameter is a generic term used primarily in German-language contexts to describe a controllable variable that determines the tonal character of a sound or signal. It is not a formal technical standard, but a descriptive label applied in music technology, acoustics, and audio production to categorize controls that influence pitch, timbre, and spectral content.

In practice, tonparameters encompass several aspects of a tone. Pitch (frequency) directly shapes the perceived note. Timbre-related controls include oscillator waveform selection, filter cutoff and resonance, and adjustments to harmonic content or formants. Envelope-related parameters, such as attack, decay, sustain, and release, also affect tone color by altering how a sound evolves over time. Additional tonparameters cover modulation depth and rate for vibrato or tremolo, which can change the tonal feel without altering the fundamental pitch. In analytical contexts, tonparameters may be linked to perceptual descriptors like brightness, warmth, or roughness, which describe the color of the tone rather than its loudness.

In equipment and software, tonparameters are typically exposed as knobs, sliders, or mapped MIDI controls and are often grouped under a tone or timbre category. Presets encode specific tonparameter values to reproduce a desired color of sound. While the term is descriptive and widely understood in practice, it does not refer to a single standardized parameter set and can vary across devices and software interfaces.