We know that when we strike a metal, it usually has a characteristic "sharp" sound, unlike when we strike wood, say.
What characterizes this "metallic sound"? Does it have a well-defined power spectrum? What are its generic properties?
Also, why do metals have a metallic sound?
My best guess would be that metals have high Young's / Bulk modulus and so the resonances for typically sized metals should be at fairly high frequencies, and since they are very elastic, they wouldn't dissipate energy all that easily, so the resonances would have small FWHM and hence be sharp. So my guess is that a "metallic sound" has distinct resonance peaks in its power spectrum, whereas for a piece of wood, for example, these peaks merge into each other to create a continuum.
Best Answer
The main effect is the opposite of what you say--- the metals have a high speed of sound and low dissipation compared to wood. So wood attenuates faster, and has lower frequencies, and this makes a dull thump, while metals ring like a crystal and don't decay for longer, at higher frequencies because of the higher speed of sound (which is ultimately because of the stiffer Young's/Bulk modulus, as you say)
The presence of disorder is also important in diffusing the sound. Wood and other nonmetals scatter the sound into a complicated waveform, where attenuation is enhanced.