Re: Absolute pitch and doppler shifting partials

Hi Haresh,

Okay, I'll look out for it.

Your remark about the doppler effect has reminded me of a thought
I once had.

When one's standing close to a road with traffic, you hear the
traffic as many doppler shifting partials, all shifting
downwards as they pass, especially the trucks, which often
have partials with loud well defined pitches.

Sometimes they go the other way if the traffic is accelerating,
maybe after going round a sharp corner, and an occasional one will be
shifting upward, perhaps because of a truck in the distance
accelerating to overtake, but the predominant mood is of downward
shifting partials.

Even from a fair distance, one still hears traffic as downward
shifting more than it is upward shifting.

A bit like a shephard tone in some ways - it keeps going down
in pitch, but never gets anywhere.

So I wondered, what would happen if one played traffic
noise backwards? Would it sound like something new?
Or would it just sound as if they were all accelerating
round a corner?

Has anyone done the experiment in a musical piece
I wonder?

Robert

--- In tuning@y..., "Robert Walker" <robert_walker@r...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_20742.html#20742

>
> So I wondered, what would happen if one played traffic
> noise backwards? Would it sound like something new?
> Or would it just sound as if they were all accelerating
> round a corner?
>
> Has anyone done the experiment in a musical piece
> I wonder?
>
> Robert

Hello Robert!

I believe the illustrious electronic composers Paul Lansky and our
own Bill Alves, have both done extensive work with traffic sounds...

It lends new interpretation to the old admonition, "Go play in
traffic..."

These composers obviously have, and to great effect!

_______ _____ _____ ____
Joseph Pehrson