"The Mystery Of Sound Is Mysticism"

now if someone want to go deeper...

This Cambridge study confirm the thesis of Akpan J. Essien in acoustics in his book : "Sound Sources" :

The book is described here , i bought it 5 years ago...

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337721064_Sound_Sources_The_Origin_of_Auditory_Sensations

if you cannot afford it you can read this article which will you an idea why this book is the most important i read in acoustics :

https://sciencepublishinggroup.com/article/10.11648/10026300

Abstract :

«Mechanical, acoustical, and neurophysiological investigations in music, acoustics, and auditory perception repose on the Pythagorean string ratio theory of musical pitch intervals (6^th century B.C). Recently, the mechanical validity of the string ratio theory and its psychological import have been challenged and denied on grounds of invariance. In this regard, Essien (2014) demonstrated experimentally that, contrary to established tradition in physics of sound, the tension of a string is not constant when string length is modified even though the balanced-force exerted on the string is held constant. The data revealed the existence of two sources of force in a vibrating string: (1) The oppositely-directed force applied externally to the string (labelled Fex); (2) The force that is the intrinsic property of the string (labelled Fin). The latter is the missing parameter in Pythagorean auditory psychophysics. The omission lured researchers into acoustics and neurophysiology of pitch without an invariant physical correlate of pitch. Essien’s (2014) data showed that all transformations to string length or the balanced-force exerted on a string are various ways to modify the string’s resistance to deformation. Thus, the force in a string varies inversely with string length even though Fex is held constant. In the present paper, string length is shown to have very little or no effect at all on a string’s vibrational frequency and subjective pitch. Because psychoacoustic theories of hearing are founded on the string ratio theory, the data not only offer the missing psychological element that deprived the string ratio theory of a scientific status, but also refute both Ohm’s acoustical law (1843) and Helmholtz’s resonance theory (1877). The force in a string is portrayed as the mechanical parameter in control of pitch regardless of vibrational frequency or spectral structure. Implications for future research in musical acoustics and auditory perception are discussed.»

Pythagoras was wrong because sound sources are important and sound perceived qualities are rooted in physical perception not in abstract non physical ratio...

In a way Leibnitz saying that when we listen music we compute without knowing it is not right and dont tell the story...

music is an embodied perception of the physical vibrating sound sources qualities...

We need an ecological theory of audition and of acoustics... Akpan J. essien gave the basis for one...

And i will remind my friends here another reason why we need an ecological theory of sound perception as J.J. Gibson created an ecological theory of visual perception , it is an article about human hearing beating the Fourier limits :

https://phys.org/news/2013-02-human-fourier-uncertainty-principle.html

For those lazy about reading listen this intro to the matter in the first 4 minutes  minutes of radio podcast :

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/news-roundup-tim-revell/

 And for those who do want all there is to know in three words there it is :

«Imperfection is the peak»-- René Char

I hope reading the four posts above that

https://neurosciencenews.com/music-body-emotion-25664/

«Summary: A groundbreaking cross-cultural study has revealed that music universally influences bodily sensations and emotions, transcending cultural boundaries. Researchers from Western and East Asian backgrounds discovered that emotional and structural characteristics of music consistently evoke similar bodily sensations—such as changes in the chest, limbs, and head regions—regardless of cultural background.

The study, analyzing responses to music from different traditions, underscores the role of music in eliciting comparable emotional experiences and bodily responses across diverse groups. This research highlights the intrinsic connection between music, emotion, and physical sensation, suggesting a shared human experience that bridges geographic and cultural divides.»

«The research also dismantled the notion that music’s impact is purely subjective or culturally relative. Instead, it underscored the existence of cross-cultural, shared links between musical features, bodily sensations, and emotions.»

The original research is here :

Bodily maps of musical sensations across cultures

http://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2308859121

«Acoustic cues for perception “represent a narrow-minded
way of thinking which leads us into a blind alley when faced
with the problem of discovering the real nature of the
auditory mechanism.” [1].
The Pythagorean string ratio theory is the pivot around
which revolve all work in hearing [2; 3]. In this regard,
Stephen & Bates [4]: noted: “Pythagoras’ discovery, instead
of acting as a stimulus for further experiments became the
basis of fantastic philosophical and mathematical
speculations such as the famous “harmony of spheres”, and
so for another 2000 years, sound was mainly involved in a
semi-mystical arithmetic of music.” The situation has not
changed today. After all, Ohm’s Acoustical Law [5], and
Helmholtz’s Resonance/Place Theory [6], both reflecting
perception by ratios of stimulus magnitude, are the acoustical
and neurophysiological facets of the string ratio theory. The
difficulties encountered in the search for acoustic cues to
perception, whether in music or speech, have led many
investigators to label the objective “elusive” [7] or
“ambitious” [8]. The ecological approach is presumably
promising [9, 10, 11, 12]; and recent researchers, following
in the footsteps of Pythagoras, have conducted mechanically-
based investigations into pitch perception [13, 14, 15, 16,
17]. However, rather than seek out the invariant property of
the sound source that underlies subjective pitch, modern
investigators focus the effects of individual mechanical
parameters of the sound source on frequency of vibration, or
the relationship between the vibratory modes of the entire
sound source and pitch, all as though vibrational frequency
were invariant with pitch. »

Akpan J. Essien

The Mechanical Invariance Factor in Musical Acoustics and
Perception (Revisited)

This article adress is in my post above ...