Study - What type of listener are you?

[bloodline]

"The last edition of the German (snake-oil) HiFi-magazine AUDIO reported on some interesting recent research on hearing. They claim humanity is made up of two types of listeners: the fundamental tone hearer and the overtone hearer. They go on and say that the former is prevalently hearing with the left side of his brain and usually prefers melodic music and higher instruments (piano, violin, flute), while the latter is hearing with his ride side and favours instruments with rich timbre (voice, bassoon, cello)."




http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t40690.html

Go here, listen to the Audio file which plays twelve tones pairs... and then mark on a list if you thought the tone pair was increasing in pitch or decreasing in pitch.

Post your results here.


I am a Fundamental Tone hearer... and yes I prefer melodic music... lets see how this bears out...

[motorollin]

Mine was almost identical to the table for a fundamental tone hearer, just a couple different. Some of them were very definitely ascending or descending, but quite a few were definitely bitonal, with one ascending and one descending. With these ones I just went with which seemed more prominent to me. I do like melodic music, but also rich timbres. Not surprising really, since I'm mostly ambidextrous, have pretty equal strength on each side of my body, and have character traits stereotypically associated with both left- and right-brain dominant individuals.

I expect that if this is intended purely as an experiment in psychoacoustics then it will be confounded by people who are trained musicians, as they will analyse as well as perceive.

--
moto

[bloodline]

motorollin wrote:
Mine was almost identical to the table for a fundamental tone hearer, just a couple different.

I couldn't figure out ton paar 2... I had no idea at all... even on repeated listenings...

Some of them were very definitely ascending or descending, but quite a few were definitely bitonal, with one ascending and one descending. With these ones I just went with which seemed more prominent to me. I do like melodic music, but also rich timbres. Not surprising really, since I'm mostly ambidextrous, have pretty equal strength on each side of my body, and have character traits stereotypically associated with both left- and right-brain dominant individuals.

I expect that if this is intended purely as an experiment in psychoacoustics then it will be confounded by people who are trained musicians, as they will analyse as well as perceive.

It is, read the comments they make good reading.

[motorollin]

bloodline wrote:
I couldn't figure out ton paar 2... I had no idea at all... even on repeated listenings...

Some of them were quite ambiguous. I think that one was a rising high E-F and a falling low E-Bb.

bloodline wrote:
It is, read the comments they make good reading.

Stop distracting me! :-)

--
moto

[bloodline]

motorollin wrote:

bloodline wrote:
I couldn't figure out ton paar 2... I had no idea at all... even on repeated listenings...

Some of them were quite ambiguous. I think that one was a rising high E-F and a falling low E-Bb.

bloodline wrote:
It is, read the comments they make good reading.

Stop distracting me! :-)

--
moto

I'm sure this relates to your course some how....

[motorollin]

bloodline wrote:
I'm sure this relates to your course some how....

Yeah! Audiology is definitely related. Shame that's not what my exam is about on Tuesday...

--
moto

[Cymric]

Only got two wrong (one I still can't hear even with the correct explanation), so that would put me in the range of the 'fundamental tone hearer', and as far as I know I don't have a true ear for music. Then again, I don't know what that means either .

I don't buy the psychological explanation, though. Sifting through acoustical waves is a very complex process---too complex to yield just two kinds of listeners. It's the same as that rotating shadow which also would have left brain- and right brain-implications. Bull.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I'm both.

[bloodline]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I'm both.

you scored 6?

[Speelgoedmannetje]

bloodline wrote:

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I'm both.

you scored 6?

ehmmm, I just watched my music list, and I have both very melodic music as well as very rythmic music. It matters in what kind of mood I am, what I listen.
-edit- done the test, all 12 of them good.
Still, I have a strong feeling for rythm. :-?

[bloodline]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:

bloodline wrote:

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I'm both.

you scored 6?

ehmmm, I just watched my music list, and I have both very melodic music as well as very rythmic music. It matters in what kind of mood I am, what I listen.
-edit- done the test, all 12 of them good.

Then you are a "fundamentalist" like me and Moto.

Still, I have a strong feeling for rythm. :-?

My rhythm is actually not great, I really should practice more to improve my timing... But I find programing synths more fun :-)

[Speelgoedmannetje]

bloodline wrote:
My rhythm is actually not great, I really should practice more to improve my timing... But I find programing synths more fun :-)

Well, mine's not either when I am conciously busy with it. It's only strong when my I let my 'instinct' do the work :-)

[bloodline]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:

bloodline wrote:
My rhythm is actually not great, I really should practice more to improve my timing... But I find programing synths more fun :-)

Well, mine's not either when I am conciously busy with it. It's only strong when my I let my 'instinct' do the work :-)

Actually, that's very true... if I think about what I'm playing, I mess it up... But if I'm wondering what I'm going to have to dinner later, I'm fine :-)