Abstract
The author reports that the harmonic "tension" and major/minor "valence" of pitch combinations can be calculated directly from acoustical properties without relying on concepts from traditional harmony theory. The capability to compute the well-known types of harmonic triads means that their perception is not simply a consequence of learning an arbitrary cultural "idiom" handed down from the Italian Renaissance. On the contrary, for typical listeners familiar with diatonic music, attention to certain, definable, acoustical features underlies the perception of the valence (modality) and the inherent tension (instability) of three-tone harmonies.
Highlights
The nature/nurture debate in human psychology is as robust as ever. It has taken the form of arguments for and against the importance of the acoustical signal in the understanding and appreciation of diatonic music, in general, and the major and minor harmonies, in particular
The traditional view of Western diatonic music has been that specific pitch structures have implicit affective implications that are heard by all normal listeners after a minimal period of acculturation
The contrary view is that there is no inherent affect in the acoustical signal and that the emotional interpretations are merely adherence to a cultural idiom passed down since the Italian Renaissance
Summary
The nature/nurture debate in human psychology is as robust as ever In music psychology, it has taken the form of arguments for and against the importance of the acoustical signal in the understanding and appreciation of diatonic music, in general, and the major and minor harmonies, in particular. Numerical algorithms have been developed to explain the perception of certain acoustical properties. We have devised algorithms for explaining the perception of various types of triadic harmonies. While such numerical techniques do not resolve the nature/nurture debate, they do indicate the acoustical properties that are perceived by typical listeners to distinguish among so-called tonal and atonal chords, and to hear the affective modality of major and minor chords
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