Abstract
When we listen to music, each separate instrument creates tiny changes in the pressure of the surrounding air, and the resultant sound waves impinge together on the ear. The time taken by the ear-brain system to disentangle the waves and to recognise the components is incredibly small. This review, based on a demonstration lecture, discusses first the ways in which a musical instrument imparts recognition characteristics to the resultant sound wave through such things as transients, envelope shapes and formant characteristics. The discussion then turns to the interpretation of these effects by the ear-brain system, to the reasons why some combinations of notes sound unpleasant and harsh, whereas others sound pleasant, and to the parts played by memory, experience and training in the interpretation of sound wave by the brain. Many questions remain unanswered, including the origins of the ‘tingle in the spine’ felt by many people on hearing certain pieces of music.
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