source file: m1578.txt
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 02:18:47 -0800

Subject: "Personal" temperments [was "Comments and a question)

From: siforte@ix.netcom.com (Sanford Forte)

you wrote:

 I don't think I've heard that question, as such, having been raised
before.  There is of course no dirth of psychoacoustic theories aimed at
explaining sound perception across all humans as a whole.  Some seem more
successful than others.
______
Gary,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to look into this some more and see what
I can find.

The thing that triggered this thought were Darreg's comments and the stuff
I've seen while lurking on this list. It seems that the combinations and
permutations of musical scales/temperments is virtually infinite. So why
wouldn't we all have "one of our own"? And maybe find one that "resonated"
most closely with our"personal" temperment (pun intended) be the one we
prefer?

Interesting implications (maybe) for learning/therapy/musical ecstacy?

I think a good case can be made for possible infinite numbers of
scales/temperments. I'm wondering if a naive individual (if you could find
one) would (or could) come up with sound fragments that made up a "scale".

I like your idea of how to try to isolate this, as well as your ideas about
early influences having a bearing on preference. The idea of preference
might turn ou to be a chicken and egg thing if what I'm thinking (about
"personal" temperments) holds water.

Sanford Forte
Interactive Development Systems
Palo Alto,CA