Final answer:
Sound amplification in musical performance is referred to as sound reinforcement or sound reproduction, and it's strongly linked to the concept of timbre, which is influenced by sound wave characteristics. Musical instruments use resonance to amplify sound, with size influencing the pitch produced.
Step-by-step explanation:
The amplification of sounds produced by a performer or musical instrument is known as sound reinforcement or sound reproduction. When considering the properties of sound, we see that different musical instruments can produce the same musical note at the same level of loudness yet have a distinct quality to their sound. This quality, known as timbre, is affected by the frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves.
Musical instruments like wind instruments utilize resonance in air columns to amplify tones. Other instruments, such as violins and guitars, have sounding boxes that allow vibrating strings to resonate within, greatly amplifying the sound. Instruments like the marimba use pots or gourds beneath the wooden slats to amplify their tones, with the resonance being adjustable by adding water.
The size of a musical instrument is directly related to the wavelengths of sound it produces - smaller instruments create short-wavelength sounds resulting in higher pitches, whereas larger instruments produce long-wavelength sounds accounting for lower pitches.