Critical listening and altered states

An interesting deep scientific discovery about "timbre" meaning for music evaluation and perception :

«The mathematical rules for creating musical harmony may be more malleable than thought.

Western music theory traditionally holds that chords sound most pleasant when they contain notes separated by certain intervals (SN: 5/9/23). Namely, intervals where the notes’ frequencies have simple ratios — like 2:1 (an octave) or 3:2 (a fifth).

But new research reveals that people’s actual preferred harmonies depend on the timbre of the notes. Timbre is the distinct flavor of sound produced by specific instruments — the reason that the same note played at the same volume sounds different on the piano, guitar or gong.»

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/timbre-harmony-music-scales-culture

 All this demonstrate how much acoustics perception of timbre determine the way we will lived through the musical performance a positive "altered states" or a negative "altered states" of experience. Critical listening instead of ecstasy.

I forgot to say to our "text sarcastic corrector" that this poem:

Instead, a koan:

The words all flow,
Yet meaning hides in the prose,
Mind in tangled knot.

 This poem Is not a Koan, because a koan in zen practice is always a "non sensical question"  given by the master to the pupil to remove the mind from his habitual limits or ratio...

Our friend here has written a "hai-ku", a traditional 3 lines poem determined by a syllabes count,  which he conflated with a koan in his hurry to mock my post about acoustics and answer my koan by a bad poetry of his own...

 But what i wrote myself  above is an acoustic Koan :

What is the sound of a bell ringing in a cage with no air ?

A koan is often a question impossible to answer...

The bad haiku written above is only a sarcasm directed to me...

 The "corrector" is then corrected....

I just asked Generative AI for more information on Musical Absorption. This is what it came up with.

Musical absorption refers to a state of heightened attention and altered consciousness where individuals become deeply immersed in music, experiencing a sense of being moved and transformed. This state can involve both intense focus and a sense of detachment from external reality.

Here’s a more detailed look:

Key Characteristics of Musical Absorption:
    Intense Focus:
    Listeners become intensely focused on the music, often to the exclusion of other stimuli.

Sense of Alteration:
There’s a subjective experience of being affected or changed by the music, potentially leading to emotional responses like awe, connectedness, or feeling moved.

Loss of Self-Consciousness:
Some individuals report a temporary loss of self-consciousness or a sense of being "lost in the music," according to research on the topic.

Time Distortion:
The perception of time can be altered, with minutes feeling like seconds or vice versa.

Positive Transformation:
Many individuals report experiencing a sense of positive transformation or a feeling of being moved by the music.

How it relates to altered states of consciousness:
    Not a single state:
    Musical absorption can encompass a range of experiences, from focused listening to more intense states where self-awareness is diminished.

Connection to neural entrainment:
Some studies suggest that the rhythmic nature of music can influence brainwave activity, potentially leading to altered states.

Distinct from mind-wandering:
Musical absorption is distinct from mind-wandering, where attention drifts away from the task at hand.

Potential for therapeutic applications:
Understanding the effects of musical absorption could lead to new therapeutic approaches for managing stress, anxiety, and other conditions.

In essence, musical absorption is a fascinating phenomenon where music can profoundly alter an individual’s state of consciousness, creating a unique blend of heightened attention, emotional response, and a sense of being transported to another realm.

I am thinking that musical absorption is better description of what we audiophiles do than critical listening.

@newton_john  AI is getting remarkably good. At the very least, it is grammatical replies that have a beginning, middle, and an end. It may hallucinate facts sometimes, but at least I don't feel like I'm hallucinating while trying to read it. It doesn't make me want to throw up my hands and think, "WTF are you even saying?" No, it makes sense. Which is refreshing.