Klarinet Archive - Posting 000243.txt from 2001/02

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Organs and combination tones
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 01:50:42 -0500

On Wed, 07 Feb 2001 17:32:23 -0700, rbushidioglot@-----.com said:

> Difference tones do exist and are audible products of two different
> sounding pitches sounded at the same time. We could go on an argue
> about whether the falling tree in the forest makes a sound if no one
> is there to hear it, but I, like you have never solved that problem.
>
> Difference tones are NOT a mental phenomenon.

Well, of course in a certain sense, *all* our percepts are constructs,
and are thus mental phenomena, including our percept of an 'ordinary'
tone. But a difference tone is a higher order construct, albeit an
involuntary one. We perceive it as 'a tone' for reasons to do with our
perceptual systems, not because it 'is' a tone with the same status as
an ordinary tone.

We can see, and analyse, the vibration that we construct it from, using
an oscilloscope, true. But then, taking the rather extreme example I
used before, we can see and analyse the light in an image that gives
us the percept of 'Father Christmas', as well.

Still, 'Father Christmas' doesn't exist in the way that light does.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN artist: http://www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

If a man speaks in the forest, and no woman hears him...is he still wrong?

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