A fixed musical interval’s dissonance varies with register, worsening as notes lower

Evidence

As a final point, the degree of dissonance of a given musical interval will vary depending on the f0 value of the lower note due to the nature of the critical bandwidth with center frequency (e.g., see Figure 3.8). Tables 3.11 and 3.12 illustrate this effect for the major third where the f0 of the lower note is one octave and two octaves below that used in Table 3.8 at 110 Hz and 55 Hz, respectively. The number of “D” entries increases in each case as the f0 values of the two notes are lowered. … This increase in dissonance of any given interval, excluding the unison and octave that are equally consonant at any pitch on this basis, manifests itself in terms of preferred chord spacings in classical harmony. As a rule, when writing four-part harmony such as SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) hymns, the bass and tenor parts are usually no closer together than a fourth except when they are above the bass staff, because the result would otherwise sound “muddy” or “harsh. ” Figure 3. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1008

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the soundscape/psychoacoustic literature already read on how critical bandwidth shapes perception, and to practical voice-leading rules familiar from a music theory background. — connects to: The same musical interval’s dissonance changes with pitch register; The cochlea’s logarithmic place analysis explains why musical intervals sound the same across registers. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 823

Broader Connections

• The same musical interval’s dissonance changes with pitch register #corroborates (0.98)
• The cochlea’s logarithmic place analysis explains why musical intervals sound the same across registers. #complicates (0.80) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 823