A study of the individual differences in attitude towards tones / by C.S. Myers and C.W. Valentine.
- Charles Samuel Myers
- Date:
- [1914?]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: A study of the individual differences in attitude towards tones / by C.S. Myers and C.W. Valentine. Source: Wellcome Collection.
14/52 page 76
![highly musical person would necessarily call a hypothetically pure tone, which has been absolutely freed from accompanying tones, absolutely pure. Purity in sound, as in colour, is a relative term and is dependent on various standards; the timbre of the human voice, the timbre expected from the instrument producing the sound, the particular pitch of the note, are all factors, inter alia, influencing the subject’s standard of purity at any moment. It is curious how often in these experiments the less musical subjects utterly fail to notice that' two tones are present until their attention is directed to it. They consequently treat a bichord just as if it were a single tone, describing it in terms of richness, fulness, etc., and their opposites, or alluding to its sensory or affective effects on themselves. Even such attributes as clearness or blurredness may be employed by subjects who are nevertheless unaware that more than one tone is present. The recognition of the presence of more than one tone, at once yields answers in terms of ‘ fusion,’ ' blending,’ ‘ harmony,’ ' discord ’ and the like. V. More detailed Consideration of the Aspects. We pass now to further illustrations of the various aspects already enumerated on pp. 72-74, and to a consideration of the inter-relation of these aspects. 1. The Intra-subjective Aspect The Physiological sub-aspects: The following replies illustrate sub-aspects h and c. Sub-aspect a, will receive later treatment in connexion with synaesthesia (p. 81). H. “ I felt a touch on the tympanum.” “ I felt a stinging up the right arm as if the first finger touched a copper spring that rebounded.” “I felt warm in the ear,” “ I had a lazy feeling.” “ It was aggravating, irritating.” G. “ Gave me a tingling at the end of the right thumb, like what occurs when attention is directed to a part of the body.” [This continued for some minutes and finally prevented further experiments. After a short walk outside the laboratory the experiments were resumed, but almost immediately the tingling returned.] Aa. “I just listened to it. I liked it and was sorry when you stopped it.” 1^. “ I liked it. I had a distinct feeling of annoyance when you stopped it.” “It was too beautiful. A sense of being uplifted, as if I were listening to it with the very tips of my ears.”](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30620715_0014.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
