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Reply to Ara S.

🔗Paul H. Erlich <PErlich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxx>

4/12/1999 12:49:20 PM

>Is there a physical property involved in deciding how
>LONG an interval should be heard for the ear to comfortably get used to it?
>In other words, can I accelerate the process at all by hearing ratios at
>certain lengths of time? 3 seconds? 15 seconds? is there a difference ?

>Also, should I always include the 1/1?

Ara, if you don't include the 1/1, you're only listening to one note. I
wouldn't recommend that. Perhaps you meant the missing fundamental, the 1,
making a triad where the interval in question is heard as part of a harmonic
series above the 1. It certainly would be helpful to alternately include and
exclude the 1 if you're working on hearing intervals otonally. If you want
to hear intervals utonally, instead of the 1 you would alternately include
and exclude n*d, the product of the numerator and denominator of the
interval in question.

Also, if you indeed meant to form triads, it would be helpful to
occasionally consider intervals not in lowest terms, such as 9:3.

Though I don't think intervals (even simple-ratio ones) need to be heard
otonally or utonally, it certainly can help interval-identification
abilities if you do hear them that way. Well, otonally, anyway.