I have searched this forum for a definition of chiff. Didn’t find it. Here’s an attempt:
Chiff: A gentle edge on the note that is generally thought of as desirable.
What about those extraneous noises we get from some cheap whistles? These are the harsh edgy or squeeky sounds that we remove with our tweaking. I get the impression that some people dump those sounds into the same category as “Chiff”. And because of this confusion, the word “Chiff” has come to have negative connotations. No, my friends, this noise needs another word. What word should we use?
Since I’m the one throwing out the challenge, I’ll make the first suggestion: I suggest we call these noises “Fipps”. ( I use another term in less-polite company)
On 2002-09-12 19:15, E = Fb wrote:
I have searched this forum for a definition of chiff. Didn’t find it. Here’s an attempt:
Chiff: A gentle edge on the note that is generally thought of as desirable.
What about those extraneous noises we get from some cheap whistles? These are the harsh edgy or squeeky sounds that we remove with our tweaking. I get the impression that some people dump those sounds into the same category as “Chiff”. And because of this confusion, the word “Chiff” has come to have negative connotations. No, my friends, this noise needs another word. What word should we use?
Since I’m the one throwing out the challenge, I’ll make the first suggestion: I suggest we call these noises “Fipps”. ( I use another term in less-polite company)
Try doing a search on Google, or your engine of choice. If you’ve ever heard a pipe organ you know what chiff is.
Examples:
A chirp-like sound that occurs during attack, especially in flute pipes on an organ.
The pre-speech “starting” sound of the pipe as air rushes into the pipe, a gentle clicking before the actual tone
Big difference between chiff and the undesireable “harmonics” of a whistle needing to be tweaked. Personally, I find chiff extremely positive.