What is the term for the perceived highness or lowness of a tone, determined by its frequency?

The term that refers to the perceived highness or lowness of a tone is known as pitch. It is a fundamental concept in music and sound perception, closely linked to the frequency of the sound wave. Specifically, as the frequency of the wave increases, the pitch is perceived as higher, while a lower frequency results in a lower pitch.

Timbre, on the other hand, describes the quality or color of a sound that allows us to differentiate between various sound sources, even when they are producing the same pitch and loudness. Loudness refers to the amplitude of the sound wave and how we perceive the intensity of a sound, while volume is often used interchangeably with loudness but can sometimes refer more broadly to the level of sound output from an audio device. Understanding pitch is essential in various domains, including music, acoustics, and auditory perception, as it plays a core role in how we interpret sounds in our environment.