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References
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An approach for identification of genetic and nongenetic components. American Journal of Human Genetics, 62, 224-231. Retrieved 11/16/2004.
Deutsch, D. (1985). Dichotic listening to melodic patterns and its relationship to hemispheric specialization of function. Music Perception, 3, (2), 127-154.
Gregersen, P.K. (1998). Instant recognition: The gentics of pitch perception. American Journal of Human Genetics, 62, 221-223. Retrieved 11/16/2004.
Heaton, P., Hermelin, B., Pring, L. (1998). Autism and pitch processing: a precursor for savant musical ability? Music Perception, 15, (3), 291-305.
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Nature or Nurture: The origins of pitch Perception
For most of us, quick and accurate perception of the visual world is essential for getting around in life; we take for granted our instant recognition of color, shape, distance, and the physical relationships between objects. Many aspects of the auditory world are also apprehended in an effortless manner: a nighttime whistle is easily identified as a distant train, without any deliberation. However, identifying the pitch of an isolated whistle is beyond the abilities of most people. This is also the case for most musicians, despite the fact that they spend every day working in the context of a standardized system of pitch relationships. Those rare individuals who can instantly recognize the pitch of a random piano tone or passing car horn, without the use of a reference pitch, possess a cognitive ability that is termed "absolute pitch."
The range of useful musical pitches is 20-5,000 Hz, which is, roughly the range of a piano keyboard
Pitch is a one-dimensional attribute defined by the number of vibrations, per second, emanating from a sound source, such as a plucked string
The peripheral auditory organs are designed specifically for frequency analysis. The cochlear basilar membrane vibrates, at each point along its length, with an optimal resonant frequency. The fact that all humans are quick to appreciate the differences in timbre between instruments illustrates the extreme sensitivity of this organ to complex frequency spectra.
-Reilly Philip. Is It In Your Genes. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 2004: 223-228. Print
11. Kim-Cohen, S. 2009. In the Blink of an Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art
Most people are familiar with the word "music", however they barely consider the definition of it. After carefully think, everyone has their own opinions on this term and it is hard to have an uniform criterion of music sounds. According to the text book, Michael B. Bakan states five propositions to define the music. The first one is about the tone and the second one talks about the music is organized in some way. The next two are claims that music is human organized and a product of human intention and perception. The last proposition argues music cannot separate from Western culture. Among these propositions, I think the music is a product of human intention and perception is most interesting and worth to discuss. So I assert that the most
...Hallert, C., C. Grant, S. Grehn, C. Grannot, S. Hultent, G. Midhagens M. Strom, H. Svensson,
Today the common guitars, acoustic and electric, have six strings and on average of nineteen frets that range 3 ½ octaves. An octave is a unit of measurement obtaining to tones. Each string has a name. The bottom and thinnest string is the high e, next is b, then g, onto d, then A, and finally low E. Sound is made by strumming or plucking these strings while placing the fingers of the opposite hand on the frets and strings to produce different notes (Turnbull 825).
For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain are the ears. Briefly stated, the outer ear (or pinna) 'catches' and amplifies sound by funneling it into the ear canal. Interestingly, the outer ear serves only to boost high frequency sound components (1). The resonance provided by the outer ear also serves in amplifying a higher range of frequencies corresponding to the top octave of the piano key board. The air pressure wave travels through the ear canal to ultimately reach and vibrate the timpanic membrane (i.e.-- the eardrum). At this particular juncture, the pressure wave energy of sound is translated into mechanical energy via the middle ear. Here, three small bones, the ossicles, vibrate in succession to produce a unique pattern of movements that embodies the frequencies contained in every sound we are capable of hearing. The middle ear is also an important component in what music we actually keep out of our 'head'. The muscles grasping the ossicles can contract to prevent as much as two thirds of the sound from entering the inner ear. (1, 2)
McLachlan, N. M., Phillips, D. S., Rossell, S. L., & Wilson, S. J. (2013). Auditory processing
A timpani is one of the percussion instruments that has a definite pitch. They are also struck by a mallet on the surface of the drum, which is made out of calfskin and is stretched over a copper shell.(1) When analyzing the mallets many notice that they are home made. Timpani’s come in all different sizes, which determines the change in the pitch. They can come in sizes such as a thirty-two inch, twenty-nine inch, twenty-sixth inch, twenty-three inch and the smallest is a twenty inch, which is a higher pitch than the larger timpani’s.(2) Some sound characteristics of a timpani might be evaluated by words such as powerful, deep, booming, or hollow. Timpani’s also create their sound by a petal located at the bottom of the
McDonald, J., Teder-Salejarvi, W, & Hillyard, S. (2000). Involuntary orienting to sound improves visual perception. Nature, 407, 906-907.
The study involved three different groups, people who were sighted, people who were “early blind” which consisted of individuals who were either born blind or who lost their sense of sight within the first two years of life, and people who became blind later in life. The study consisted of the subjects listening to two tones, challenging them to determine whether the second tone was higher or lower in pitch than the first. The results concluded that there were no significant differences in the ability to hear the notes between the sighted individuals and the people who became blind later in life. However, the participants who were born without the sense of sight or who became blind early in life performed better than both other
The word harmony in this analysis refers to the relation of different sound sets instead of pitch. The setup for this is featured in Example 1.
The numbers 1,2,3, and 4 are proportional to the frequencies of the tones; the larger the number the higher the pitch. The names fourth, fifth, and octave come from the ordering of tones of an 8-tone diatonic scale. (tone relating to 1 is called tonic). The notes that are played by an instrument are not heard in their pure and basic sound wave but rather along with something called overtones. The harmonic progression describes the change in wavelength between notes. halving the wavelength doubles the frequency giving the octave, then taking a third of the original frequency gives the fifth. Overtones are notes whose frequencies are an exact multiple of the fundamental, and are essentially
Through out the history of music, acoustics have played a major role. After all if it were not for acoustics the quality of sound that we know today would not exist. The word acoustics comes from the Greek word akouein, which means, “to hear”(Encarta Encyclopedia). Since music has to be heard in most cases for enjoyment, acoustics obviously take on a very important role in the pleasure that music brings to the ear. Acoustical architecture and design are two key elements in the way music sounds. For example, an electric guitar played in a concert hall would sound very different compared to the sound produced in a small room. These differences can be explained by the acoustical design of the room and the reverb created by both the instrument and the room in which it is played. These differences signify the importance of acoustics in music.
...obvious areas like rain on a tin roof, the croaking of frogs, the trees whistling in the wind, birds chirping in the early morning, hands clapping together, somebody humming or whistling and tapping on something with a deep tone. As the years have gone by people have made a lot of progress getting the sounds to come together to make music as we know it today.
...s able to process sound from the faintest of noise to the obnoxiously loud noises without hesitation. The complexities of the ear and how it is able to pick up sound waves is an amazing feat of creation.