Murmurs have quality or tonal characteristics that give the sound its particular acoustic identity. Middle C in a saxophone and a clarinet, for example, are the same note, but each instrument gives the sound a unique quality identifying its source.
Description of murmur quality
All heart murmurs are noise, but the type of noise varies. Description of murmur quality is difficult and some examples may be helpful. Let us listen together first to a murmur that can be described as harsh or grating, such as that due to a ventricular septal defect; next, to a murmur that can be described as blowing, such as that of aortic regurgitation; and finally, to a murmur that can be described as harmonic or musical, such as Still's murmur. Each of these descriptive terms are somewhat subjective, however, and each listener must practice to develop a meaningful personal acoustic language.