What I found most fascinating in this video is that our perception of harmony is based on something simpler than I’d assumed. It mostly comes down to how well fundamentals and overtones of different sounds align - and here's the surprising fact - even if those overtones aren’t close to integer multiples of a fundamental.
I’d always thought of harmony in terms of overtone series from basic 1D oscillations. Sure, pianos have stretch tuning, but they still mostly follow that pattern. And while we all know about different tuning systems, I thought they were just different ways of spacing notes within the same basic framework of integer-based overtones.
What I didn’t realize is that you can actually build practical, usable musical instruments with complex 2D or 3D mode structures and dispersion, where the overtones stop lining up neatly along integer number series. And there are whole musical traditions - with tuning and harmony systems that aren’t just alternate temperaments but represent something fundamentally different.
In hindsight, it follows pretty directly from physics and how hearing evolved around it. But coming from a Western musical background - even with some deep exposure to its more exotic corners - it was eye-opening to realize how far the human concept of harmony can stretch.
I’d always thought of harmony in terms of overtone series from basic 1D oscillations. Sure, pianos have stretch tuning, but they still mostly follow that pattern. And while we all know about different tuning systems, I thought they were just different ways of spacing notes within the same basic framework of integer-based overtones.
What I didn’t realize is that you can actually build practical, usable musical instruments with complex 2D or 3D mode structures and dispersion, where the overtones stop lining up neatly along integer number series. And there are whole musical traditions - with tuning and harmony systems that aren’t just alternate temperaments but represent something fundamentally different.
In hindsight, it follows pretty directly from physics and how hearing evolved around it. But coming from a Western musical background - even with some deep exposure to its more exotic corners - it was eye-opening to realize how far the human concept of harmony can stretch.
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