Perception. (was: sense of no limitations)

The truth is, at least for me, that there are contexts when even a
1/4-tone (50 cents) is too small to be heard; then there are other
contexts where I can hear interval differences of only a few cents. And
in certain contexts, or in certain senses, I suppose I can hear
intervals of incredibly small size--or at least, the results of such.

But it's a matter of context.

Sometimes I feel that not-being-able-to-hear a given interval is something
one doesn't admit to on these lists, so I praise Joseph Pehrson for
having the courage to admit "I can't hear that." (Or, "My ear made a
mistake.")

Margo Schulter's comment was a nice refinement of this: one
can go one step further, and ask, "Why didn't/couldn't I hear that?" and
"Is the reason something potentially musically useful?"

Actually, I find myself thinking about the whole subject of context and
perceptual ability quite a bit these days. One can invent ridiculously
abstract structures and think "wow, I could never hear that", but then
one can often find features in those structures such that hearing the
results of those features is, in a way, hearing the "un-hearable"
abstraction.

In any case, it doesn't help PR for microtonality if people have a "macho"
attitude about what intervals they can hear. Not that I've ever seen that
<directly> on this or the tuning list. But sometimes I've felt hesitant
to admit that I can't hear something. So there may be some sort of vibe.
If the average music-lover needs to be able to hear something to enjoy
certain music, and can't, then what's the point? It's the same problem
you've got in bad serial music.

Cheers,

CB

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Christopher Bailey
<chris@m...> wrote:
>
> The truth is, at least for me, that there are contexts when even
a
> 1/4-tone (50 cents) is too small to be heard; then there are other
> contexts where I can hear interval differences of only a few
cents. And
> in certain contexts, or in certain senses, I suppose I can hear
> intervals of incredibly small size--or at least, the results of
such.
>
> But it's a matter of context.
>
> Sometimes I feel that not-being-able-to-hear a given interval is
something
> one doesn't admit to on these lists, so I praise Joseph Pehrson
for
> having the courage to admit "I can't hear that." (Or, "My ear
made a
> mistake.")
>
> Margo Schulter's comment was a nice refinement of this: one
> can go one step further, and ask, "Why didn't/couldn't I hear
that?" and
> "Is the reason something potentially musically useful?"
>
> Actually, I find myself thinking about the whole subject of
context and
> perceptual ability quite a bit these days. One can invent
ridiculously
> abstract structures and think "wow, I could never hear that", but
then
> one can often find features in those structures such that hearing
the
> results of those features is, in a way, hearing the "un-
hearable"
> abstraction.
>
> In any case, it doesn't help PR for microtonality if people have
a "macho"
> attitude about what intervals they can hear. Not that I've ever
seen that
> <directly> on this or the tuning list. But sometimes I've felt
hesitant
> to admit that I can't hear something. So there may be some sort of
vibe.
> If the average music-lover needs to be able to hear something to
enjoy
> certain music, and can't, then what's the point? It's the same
problem
> you've got in bad serial music.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> CB

***Hi Chris!

Nice to *hear* from you! Well, for myself, I only seem to make
progress on these lists or elsewhere when I "fess up" to my
limitations, whatever they be...

Since I enjoy making progress, I think I will continue using this
tactic... :)

best,

JP