Listeners' recognition of wind‐instrument tones was investigated for the tone concert F on the treble staff (frequency approximately 349 cps). Tones of a flute, oboe, B‐flat clarinet, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, cornet, trumpet, French horn, trombone, and baritone were recorded, equated for duration and sound level as well as frequency. Thirty university band members listened to these tones played back: unaltered, backward, with the rise and decay removed, and through a 480‐cps low‐pass filter. Recognition of wind‐instrument tone quality was best for the unaltered playback, next best under the backward condition, next in the absence of rise and decay, and poorest under the filtered condition.