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John Stuart ReidBackerHello Tosso, I do hope this study reaches its target. I am the inventor of the CymaScope instrument, which renders sound visible on the surface and subsurface of pure water. We have an adage which is: Beauty in = Beauty out, meaning that when we inject a consonant sound into the CymaScope the result is a subjectively beautiful standing wave pattern but the reverse is true when we inject a dissonant sound, which creates a skewed and subjectively ugly pattern. When sonic vibrations enter our inner ear they are sensed by the Organ of Corti but in theory they also imprint a Faraday Wave pattern on the Tectorial membrane, which if true may be how dolphins see with sound. I am interested in exploring this concept and your study is likely to help with some pieces of this puzzle. Good luck and best wishes, JohnJan 05, 20180
Toso PankovskiResearcherHi John, Thank you for your interest and support! Yes, sometimes the "Beauty in = Beauty out" is evident in nature, as it is the case regarding consonance. Still, I must point out that, according to our previous study https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bica.2017.09.001 - that expression is valid only for the part of the process where the sounds generated and transmitted in nature have that beauty in them - "encoded" within their sound spectrum or expressed visually through the interference pattern they create when acting on a surface of water. What is essential to consonance phenomenon, that beauty has nothing to do with the pleasant emotions we feel while perceiving those sounds - our study suggests that the actual act of permanent repetition of those natural-sound spectral patterns are creating a correspondent pattern in neural synapses of the brain. Then, a subsequent perception of a pattern that is quite different than those best learned (most heard) creates an upsetting feeling in us - that seems the root of consonance/dissonance phenomenon. As additional evidence supporting this is the studies of other scientists, showing that cultural differences (read: exposure to different sound patterns in the past) would change the pleasantness rating of the most dissonant sounds. This means that if we expose our brains overwhelmingly with "ugly" sounds, we'll then have the dissonant (unpleasant) feeling when listening to natural (or "beautiful") sounds. I hope we shall have a chance to complete this project with success, and the new high-resolution data will shine more light on our understanding of this complex phenomenon - with much more confidence. Thank you again, TosoJan 05, 20180
