Theory 005/Acoustics & Vibration
Consonance Is Roughness
The claim
Musical consonance is set by a roughness threshold in the auditory filter bank rather than by the simplicity of frequency ratios.
01The mechanism
Ratios matter only where they produce beating within a critical band; outside that, simple and complex intervals are indistinguishable.
02Predictions
- P1Consonance should track beating within critical bands.
- P2Timbre changes should shift consonance at fixed ratio.
03Refutation
Consonance tracking ratio simplicity across timbres would favour the ratio account.