Previous correspondence on this topic refers to the different patterns of overtones that enable us to distinguish one instrument from another. This isn’t the only factor involved. Many years ago when ...

"Da, duh." Two simple notes – E and F – have become synonymous with tension, fear and sharks, representing the primal dread of being stalked by a predator. And they largely have "Jaws" to thank. Fifty ...

Both light and sound travel as waves, with characteristics that allow people with typical vision and hearing to perceive and categorize them when they reach their eyes and ears: “That’s a small red ...

In his book "Musicophilia," renowned neuroscientist Oliver Sacks described the remarkable ability of Sir Frederick Ouseley, a former music professor at the University of Oxford, to recognize the pitch ...

Our experience of musical intervals and the uncanny “sameness” of octaves is encoded in our neuroanatomy. The neuroscience of music is rich, complex and not without controversy. But some things are ...