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I love this style of clear, unambiguous writing starting with no knowledge assumptions. [but] The author is missing or skipping key pieces of information about

I love this style of clear, unambiguous writing starting with no knowledge assumptions. [but] The author is missing or skipping key pieces of information about why we use the notes we use, how they were derived, and why they sound the way they do to us. Edit. There was zero sarcasm in my comment. I really love this style of writing. The missing concept here is the harmonic series. A pitched note is not generally a sine wave, it is properly modeled as a series of sines waves combined. These sine waves go up in mathematical multiples. So say we have a note at 100hz. Simplistically it is actually 100, 200, 300, 400 etc all at once. So if 100 were A, 200 is A, 400 is A, 300 is … E, so 150 is E. Etc. None of this is arbitrary because the When the waves combine the result is more ordered or more chaotic, depending on the ratios of the waves, which our ears hear as consonant or dissonant. Best I can do from a phone.

chrisweekly 5y ago
It took a moment to realize your first sentence was derisive sarcasm. From TFA: > "Here is what I gathered, from the perspective of someone whose only music class was learning to play four notes on a recorder in second grade. I stress that I don’t know anything about music and this post is terrible. If you you so much as know how to whistle, please don’t read this you will laugh at me." ... which makes your comment even more uncharitable and unrealistically demanding. As if any mere blog post could answer those questions in meaningful depth. IOw, I don't understand the point of your complaint.
- whiddershins 5y ago
  I was not being sarcastic. The part about how the octave gets divided up is just missing some key concepts.
  - chrisweekly 5y ago
    Ah, ok, thanks for clarifying. (If your 2nd sentence began with "But, ", this would have been clear to me.) PS I love OP's writing style, too. Fearless learning in public is to everyone's benefit -- given proper disclosure/transparency.
    - whiddershins 5y ago
      All good. I went back and edited more. I would hate the author to think I was denigrating the article.
H8crilA 5y ago
This explains why the ear "likes" simple fractions, because then the harmonics in the notes will be overlapping more.
- whiddershins 5y ago
  Yes. For a slightly more complicated explanation: When two patterns are overlayed there is a third pattern which is the interference of the two patterns, or a pattern of the sums and differences of the two patterns. If the first two patterns have a simple fractional relationship you can visualize the resulting pattern in your head, and the brain when hearing perceives this as predictable and regular, and predictability is boring and sounds consonant. If the fractions are more complicated we end up with a more complex combined pattern which is harder for the brain to predict and is perceived as richer or more dissonant. If the patterns get very far from the fractional relationship (for example If an instrument is out of tune) these patterns start to feel non deterministic or non repeating to the brain and we tend to hear this as unpleasant. If the patterns have no particular mathematical relationship we end up with a completely non repeating pattern that is indistinguishable to the brain from randomness, and we call this unpitched or noise.

chrisweekly 5y ago

It took a moment to realize your first sentence was derisive sarcasm. From TFA: > "Here is what I gathered, from the perspective of someone whose only music class was learning to play four notes on a recorder in second grade. I stress that I don’t know anything about music and this post is terrible. If you you so much as know how to whistle, please don’t read this you will laugh at me." ... which makes your comment even more uncharitable and unrealistically demanding. As if any mere blog post could answer those questions in meaningful depth. IOw, I don't understand the point of your complaint.

whiddershins 5y ago
I was not being sarcastic. The part about how the octave gets divided up is just missing some key concepts.
- chrisweekly 5y ago
  Ah, ok, thanks for clarifying. (If your 2nd sentence began with "But, ", this would have been clear to me.) PS I love OP's writing style, too. Fearless learning in public is to everyone's benefit -- given proper disclosure/transparency.
  - whiddershins 5y ago
    All good. I went back and edited more. I would hate the author to think I was denigrating the article.

H8crilA 5y ago

This explains why the ear "likes" simple fractions, because then the harmonics in the notes will be overlapping more.

whiddershins 5y ago
Yes. For a slightly more complicated explanation: When two patterns are overlayed there is a third pattern which is the interference of the two patterns, or a pattern of the sums and differences of the two patterns. If the first two patterns have a simple fractional relationship you can visualize the resulting pattern in your head, and the brain when hearing perceives this as predictable and regular, and predictability is boring and sounds consonant. If the fractions are more complicated we end up with a more complex combined pattern which is harder for the brain to predict and is perceived as richer or more dissonant. If the patterns get very far from the fractional relationship (for example If an instrument is out of tune) these patterns start to feel non deterministic or non repeating to the brain and we tend to hear this as unpleasant. If the patterns have no particular mathematical relationship we end up with a completely non repeating pattern that is indistinguishable to the brain from randomness, and we call this unpitched or noise.