robertehle
In their book, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, Howard and Angus show tests that seem to prove that people cannot hear harmonics above the fifth due to adjacent harmonics above the fifth being less than a critical bandwidth apart (see page 130). This would seem to explain the fact that harmony worldwide is overwhelmingly triadic.
On the other hand, we also know (from music theory experience) that some people can hear harmonics and other pitches closer than one critical band. These play a large role in music of the Impressionist era and jazz. It seems that we have two different types of hearing here. What other mechanism is at work?
People use dissonance who cannot "resolve" it. The word is Howard and Angus' word and deserves some consideration. For example, what do people hear when they are hearing two pitches at the same time that are closer than a critical band? Presumably, the neurons in that band detect the beat pattern produced by the pair of pitches. This pattern will be the fundamental of a harmonic series that contains those two harmonics. It is a "missing fundamental" or a "periodicity pitch." I think that one can train to hear these subjective pitches and that they are used in various types of music.
Is this experience pleasurable or non-pleasurable? Dissonance is often reputed to be non-pleasurable yet there often seems to me to be a strong element of pleasure involved in hearing and recognizing periodicity pitches. Perhaps they are resolved by some additional mechanism (volley coding perhaps) that only some people have developed. This pleasureable experience of recognizing periodicity pitches seems to be a learned experience, evolving gradually, peaking and fading over time and also involving memory.
Bob Ehle, University of Northern Colorado
On the other hand, we also know (from music theory experience) that some people can hear harmonics and other pitches closer than one critical band. These play a large role in music of the Impressionist era and jazz. It seems that we have two different types of hearing here. What other mechanism is at work?
People use dissonance who cannot "resolve" it. The word is Howard and Angus' word and deserves some consideration. For example, what do people hear when they are hearing two pitches at the same time that are closer than a critical band? Presumably, the neurons in that band detect the beat pattern produced by the pair of pitches. This pattern will be the fundamental of a harmonic series that contains those two harmonics. It is a "missing fundamental" or a "periodicity pitch." I think that one can train to hear these subjective pitches and that they are used in various types of music.
Is this experience pleasurable or non-pleasurable? Dissonance is often reputed to be non-pleasurable yet there often seems to me to be a strong element of pleasure involved in hearing and recognizing periodicity pitches. Perhaps they are resolved by some additional mechanism (volley coding perhaps) that only some people have developed. This pleasureable experience of recognizing periodicity pitches seems to be a learned experience, evolving gradually, peaking and fading over time and also involving memory.
Bob Ehle, University of Northern Colorado