This paper looks at the various approaches as taken in order to understand the phenomenon of consonance/dissonance. While an early understanding of consonance/dissonance was based upon number ratios (Pythagoras), it became a question of resonance for Descartes. Subsequently, Euler attempted to formalize the ratio approach by classifying intervals into consonance/dissonance classes according to ...

Reasoning errors often arise when information is represented incorrectly. One example is the “conjunction effect”, a tendency to misremember OR statements as AND statements. We investigated the how the time course of consonance between visual and auditory information influenced memory for connectives. We measured memory for statements after manipulating the consonance between language and visua...

Abstract: Although music exists in every observed culture, ethnomusicologists suggest that music is not the “universal language,” because of the tremendous variation between music of different cultures. However, evidences from mathematics, psychoacoustics, neurobiology, cognitive science, and anthropology suggest an innate inclination of human beings toward Western harmony. The present study re...

Some combinations of musical notes are consonant (pleasant), whereas others are dissonant (unpleasant), a distinction central to music. Explanations of consonance in terms of acoustics, auditory neuroscience, and enculturation have been debated for centuries. We utilized individual differences to distinguish the candidate theories. We measured preferences for musical chords as well as nonmusica...

Consonance is related to the perception of pleasantness arising from a combination of sounds and has been approached quantitatively using mathematical relations, physics, information theory, and psychoacoustics. Tonal consonance is present in timbre, musical tuning, harmony, and melody, and it is used for conveying sensations, perceptions, and emotions in music. It involves the physical propert...

Harmony is a fundamental attribute of music. Close connections exist between music and mathematics since both pursue harmony and unity. In music, the consonance of notes played simultaneously partly determines our perception of harmony; associates with aesthetic responses; and influences the emotion expression. The consonance could be considered as a window to understand and analyze harmony. He...

Researchers have hypothesized that the degree to which an individual's actual behavior approximates the culturally valued lifestyle encoded in the dominant cultural model has consequences for physical and mental health. We contribute to this line of research by analyzing data from a longitudinal study composed of five annual surveys (2002-2006 inclusive) from 791 adults in one society of forage...