Klarinet Archive - Posting 000805.txt from 1996/02

From: "WAYNE HAJAS EXT.3066, STN.46" <HAJASW@-----.CA>
Subj: weird key signatures - again
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 08:28:17 -0500

Previously (about a year ago I think) there was a discussion on Klarinet about
weird key signatures. One of the main issues seemed to be:

Does one key actually sound different than another?

I came across some information that might add some insight. On page 14 of
the March 1996 issue of Scientific American, a study by Diana Deutsch
is described. To summarize a summary:

The effect of octaves was eliminated by combining harmonics of the
same note.

Listeners were asked to compare the relative pitch of notes with the
effect of the octaves removed.

Even with the effects of the octaves removed, some notes were still
perceived to be of a higher pitch. However, the listeners did not
always agree which note is higher. Also, there was a geographical
bias: people from Southern England tended to hear the notes
differently than people from California.

A conclusion is made that a composer and an audience may
hear a piece of music differently.

More detail is given in Scientific American. Results are to be presented
at a May meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

My conclusion would be that different key signatures can have different
effects, but the effects may be different for the composer, musician and
audience. I will let the professionals decide how this information
should be applied to actual performance.

Wayne Hajas