Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Musical illusions

Here's the English version of my column on music cognition for the current issue of the Italian science magazine Sapere.

_____________________________________________________________

“In studying [optical] illusions”, writes Kathryn Schulz in her book Being Wrong, “scientists aren’t learning how our visual system fails. They are learning how it works.” What Schulz means is that normal visual processing is typically a matter of integrating confusing information into a plausible story that lets us navigate the world. Colour constancy is a good example: the brain “corrects” for variations in brightness so that objects don’t appear to change hue as the lighting conditions alter. The famous “checkerboard shadow” illusion devised by vision scientist Edward Adelson fools this automatic recalibration of perception.


Adelson’s checkerboard illusion. The squares A and B are the same shade of grey.

In this regard as in many others, auditory perception mirrors the visual. The brain often rearranges what we hear to create something that “makes more sense” – with the same potential for creating illusions. Psychologist of music Diana Deutsch has delved deeply into the subject of musical illusions, some of which are presented on a CD released by Philomel in 1995. Several of these have to be heard through stereo headphones: they deliver different pitches to the left and right ears, which the brain reassigns to create coherence. For example, in the “scale illusion” the notes of two simultaneous scales – one ascending, one descending – are sent alternately to each ear. But what one hears is a much simpler pattern: an ascending scale in one ear, descending in the other. Here the brain is choosing to perceive the more likely pattern, even though it’s wrong.

Another example reveals the limitations of pitch perception. A familiar tune (Yankee Doodle) is played with each note assigned a random octave. It sounds incomprehensible. The test shows that, in deciphering melody, we attend not so much to absolute pitch class (a C or D, say) as to relative pitch: how big pitch jumps are between successive notes. Arnold Schoenberg’s twelve-tone serialism ignored this, which is why the persistence of his “tone rows” is often inaudible.

Perhaps the strangest thing about optical illusions is that we enjoy them, even if – indeed, because – we find them perplexing. Instead of being upset by the brain’s inability to “get it right”, we are apt to laugh – not a common response to wrongness, although it’s actually how a lot of comedy works. You might, then, expect to find musical illusions put to pleasurable use in music, especially by jokers like Mozart. But they are rather rare, maybe because we simply won’t notice them unless we see the score. Something like the scale illusion is used, however, in the second movement of Rachmaninov’s Second Suite for Two Pianos, where two sets of seesawing notes on each piano are heard as two sets of single repeated notes. It seems likely that Rachmaninov (not noted for jocularity) wasn’t just having fun – it’s merely easier to play these rapid quavers using pitch jumps rather than on the same note.

11 comments:

Mas Bewok said...

Situs aman terpercaya dan tanpa robot? Langsung saja kunjungi situs Poker Online
Poker Online merupakan situs yang terbukti aman dan terpercaya, dengan berapapun kemenangan anda akan dibayar!!
cqzscience
evqtravel
fzchome
gskhealth
hvpbusiness

Della said...

Selanjutnya The Cheating Game menggantikkan kedudukan Card Sharp yang saat itu sangat populer sebagai jenis permainan kartu 3-Mother di sirkuit perjudian kartu poker.
asikqq
dewaqq
sumoqq
interqq
pionpoker
bandar ceme
hobiqq
paito warna
http://199.30.55.59/sumoqq78/
data hk 2019

Minat Jesisca said...

BONUS YANG TERSEDIA :
* BONUS NEW MEMBER 20%
* BONUS NEXT DEPOSIT 5% ( TERBARU )
* Bonus Turn Over Mingguan 0.5% (ALL GAME TANPA SYARAT)
* BONUS REFERAL BERJALAN TERBESAR ( BONUS DOUBLE )

AYO DAFTARKAN DIRI ANDA SEKARANG JUGA & IKUTI BERBAGAI MACAM EVENT-EVENT MENARIK LAINNYA!!

Untuk Informasi lebih lanjut silahkan hubungi :

WA : +855887950794
Line : minatpoker
Facebook : Cathy Gerald Tan

minatpoker
dewapoker
pokeronline

Agen IDN Poker Online
Bonus Poker Terbesar
Poker Online Indonesia
Situs Poker Online Terpercaya
Agen IDN Play Terbaik

slot online said...

I have been searching for the information about this topic today. it is very well written and contains alot of information. Kenyamanan dan keamanan dalam bermain slot online hanya bisa didapatkan pada saat Anda bermain bersama agen slot online MPO007. Jangan salah pilih dalam bermain permainan slot online, hanya MPO007 pilihan Anda sebagai Agen Slot Online Terlengkap di Indonesia Situs Slot Online

Kate Russell said...

Joy and happiness is all i can see around ever since i came in contact with this great man. i complained bitterly to him about me having herpes only for him to tell me it’s a minor stuff. He told me he has cured thousands of people but i did not believe until he sent me the herbal medicine and i took it as instructed by this great man, only to go to the hospital after two weeks for another test and i was confirmed negative. For the first time in four years i was getting that result. i want to use this medium to thank this great man. His name is Dr Oyagu, i came in contact with his email through a friend in UK and ever since then my live has been full with laughter and great peace of mind. i urge you all with herpes or HSV to contact him if you willing to give him a chance. you can contact him through this email oyaguherbalhome@gmail.com or you can also WhatsApp him +2348101755322
He also cured my friend with HIV and ever since then i strongly believe he can do all things. Don't be deceived thinking he does not work, i believe if you can get in contact with this man all your troubles will be over. i have done my part in spreading the good news. Contact him through his email and you will be the next to testify of his great work.



Satta King Guru said...

This is the best blog with all the related information which helps us alot and yes I would also thank to the author for sharing such a wonderful and most impotently the helping information. Thank you.
Satta King
SattaKing Chart

Cracktube.net said...



Nice information, nice picture, nice writings, it's overall a good blog, thank you for making it.
4K Video Downloader Crack
Bandicam Crack
iTools Crack

Alandre said...

I'm someone who has lived a life seemingly in the background, I must say this final indignity I have suffered almost too much to endure. You see, I have been sickly and weak since the day I was born and doomed to go through all my life a weakling. I seemed to have always suffered from one illness or another and could never play with the other children as I so desperately wanted to. Mother always made such a big fuss over me, also, making the situation worse as the other boys teased me mercilessly after they saw it. I was browsing  the internet searching on how i could be transformed into a powerful when i came across the email of a man named Lord Mark. who was a VAMPIRE so I told him that I has always dreamed of becoming a  VAMPIRES, All i did was just to follow the procedure that i was been told, and i bet you that procedure I took change my entire life to something i ever desire, freedom, sickness free, pains free, fame, influence, connections and even more that i can. Thanks to Lord Mark. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the vampires creed today via email: Vampirelord7878@gmail.com

Sharon Wayne said...

I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help. 

Darlene Treger said...

HERBAL DR EMU WHO PREPARE HERBAL MEDICINE TO CURE ALL KINDS OF DISEASES INCLUDING HERPES DISEASE.   
 I have been battling this Herpes disease for almost 3 years now....I tried all possible means to get cure from my Herpes Disease but all to be in vain until i saw a post in a health forum about a herbal Dr Emu who prepare herbal medicine to cure all kind of diseases including Herpes Disease, at first i doubted if it was real but decided to give it a try...when i contact Dr Emu via his email (emutemple@gmail.com)  write him and reply me explain how the process work so after ordering for the medicine I got it within 3/4 working days through DHL Delivery and I took it according to the way Dr Emu instructed, I was so happy after 2 week I took the medicine there was very big change in my health when I was done with the process I go for test, I found out I am negative...Herpes patients should also get in touch with this herbalist Dr Emu to get rid of these Herpes Virus forever his whatsapp number +2347012841542.

Unknown said...

Poker Indonesia
Poker Online Indonesia
Bandar QQ
Agen Ceme Online
Daftar Situs Poker
Poker Online Terpercaya
Judi Poker
Poker Online Uang Asli
Poker Uang Asli
Situs Poker Online
Agen Poker
poker online
Capsa Susun Online
situs poker online
situs judi online

Poker Indonesia
Poker Online Indonesia
Bandar QQ
Agen Ceme Online
Daftar Situs Poker
Poker Online Terpercaya
Judi Poker
Poker Online Uang Asli
Poker Uang Asli
Situs Poker Online
Agen Poker
poker online
Capsa Susun Online
situs poker online
situs judi online