5 ms·
Why do you assume there is an evolutionary basis for this? Evolutionary perspectives might be helpful for understanding broad genetic characteristics of entire
by darksaints 6y ago
Why do you assume there is an evolutionary basis for this? Evolutionary perspectives might be helpful for understanding broad genetic characteristics of entire populations. But it isn't even clear if absolute pitch is heritable, let alone anything more than a random variation with null survivability benefits.
- klodolph 6y agoAbsolute pitch is heritable in the sense that nearly everyone is born with it. The theories I've heard are that we are born with absolute pitch and develop relative pitch later on, losing absolute pitch at around eight months old. We also develop the ability to associate octaves, so C and C' start sounding "alike" at some point, but this happens because we are exposed to music which treats them as equal. I find it hard to believe that it would have "null survivability benefits"--it seems pretty useful for distinguishing the sounds of different animals.
- hprotagonist 6y agonot all traits have to be beneficial to persist.
- klodolph 6y agoWe agree on that point... what are you trying to argue?
- hprotagonist 6y agon-GP wrote: > From an evolutionary perspective, what could possibly be the reason for this? and my point is “there need not be one at all, perhaps absolute pitch is a spandrel.”
- klodolph 6y agoI guess I don’t understand why you’re responding to my comment, then.
- TedDoesntTalk 6y agoI had to look up spandrel. Thank you for the enlightenment, whether or not absolute pitch is indeed a spandrel.
- TylerE 6y ago> so C and C' start sounding "alike" at some point, but this happens because we are exposed to music which treats them as equal. I don't follow. They ARE strongly related because an octave is a power of two multiple.
- klodolph 6y agoYou could pick a pure deep violet and red with a 2:1 frequency ratio, but we would not be able to tell. It would simply look like two different colors to us, with no special relationship. Just because a mathematical relationship exists doesn't mean that we perceive it. Not all music is built around 2:1 octaves. People who grew up listening to music with 2:1 octaves can identify pitch classes, people who grew up in isolated tribes without exposure to that kind of music--hear C and C' simply as different notes. People with absolute pitch sometimes have the opposite problem--they can accurately recognize the pitch class of C or C', but are more likely to mistake C for C' or vice versa. Real music often deviates from the 2:1 ratio anyway. Only certain instruments produce a near pure harmonic spectrum, most instruments have some inharmonicity, and these instruments are often played according to their spectrum, rather than the harmonic series.
- TylerE 6y agoMusical frequencies are not "pure". They are made up of a series of overtones. By far the loudest of these overtones is the 2nd harmonic... which is double the base frequency aka one octave. This is not some artificial construct but a fundamental part of how things vibrate.
- kqr 6y agoThere have been experiments made on people brought up on music where the octave is considered less important and these people do not perceive it as "the same." It seems the same to us because we're building on hundreds of years of music that tells us it is. If you're comfortable with the tonic moving, the octave is no more "the same" than any other note. Most of what we take for granted in music is learned through exposure.
- 6y ago