On 4 Feb 2005 at 20:10, Darcy James Argue wrote:

> On 04 Feb 2005, at 7:18 PM, David W. Fenton wrote:
> 
> >> . . . However, I would think that anyone,
> >> ever, from anywhere, would agree that a minor  second is much more
> >> dissonant than a perfect fifth, and that those two extreme
> >> intervals are absolutely dissonant and absolutely consonant
> >> respectively, and without regard to musical context.
> >
> > You've not met many of my Elements of Music students!
> 
> College students love to be contrarians.

Er, I can tell the difference between someone playing a role and 
someone whose ear doesn't work the same way as mine.

> On the other hand, human infants of all cultures overwhelmingly prefer
> the sound of perfect fifths to the sound of minor seconds.

All the research I've ever seen into this kind of thing has been 
fatally flawed on a number of levels. Indeed, most of it that I've 
seen has been done either by amateurs or by scientists who don't 
really understand music.

This whole field of research has always seemed hopelessly mired in a 
priori assumptions and inadequate study design. I consider the people 
who claim "scientific" basis for tonality to be the phrenologists of 
modern musical scholarship.

And don't get me started on the bloody prehistoric flute hoax.

-- 
David W. Fenton                        http://www.bway.net/~dfenton
David Fenton Associates                http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc

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