SINCE 1828
chiff
noun
\ ˈchif
\
\
plural chiffs
Definition of chiff
: the initial sound made by air leaving the mouth of a wind instrument (such as an organ flue pipe or a flute) at the attack (see attack entry 2 sense 5) of a note
The chiff is a sudden, short-lived burst of upper harmonics that occurs whenever an organ key is depressed and a note is sounded.— Joel Naumann and James D. Wagoner, Analog Electronic Music Techniques, 1985
— called also articulation
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