Re: Digest Number 226

Paul Erlich wrote
>
> John Starrett wrote,
>
> >>>If ordinary
> >>>vowels are strange attractors of the vocal chords, then controlling a
> >>>period two imbedded in the attractor would result in a true subharmonic.
> >>>Is it possible that throat singers use this technique?
>
> I wrote,
>
> >>I would say ordinary vowels represent period-one behavior, and throat
> >>singers use the period-two regime.

Actually, I am saying that perhaps vowels are (in some cases) represented
by a strange attractor, in which case true subharmonics could be generated
by controlling one of the embedded periodic orbits. There are attractors
that are "close to" their embedded period one orbits in the sense that the
chaos is a chaotic variation around the period one. The usual method of
chaos control requires only small perturbations of some parameter (chord
tightness?) to switch between the embedded periodic orbits. Of course this
is just speculation, but the fact that at least one study has found
a strange attractor in a human vowel vocalization, and the fact that
controlling chaos is quite easy leads me to wonder about the possibility.

As to Neil's post about snotty microtonaliusts, perhaps the fellow he
talked to is just a very sensitive person and was unduly bummed.