Pure tones alone cannot sustain musical interest

Evidence

When we listen to music, it is very rare that it consists of just a single pure tone. While it is possible and relatively simple to arrange to listen to a pure tone of a particular frequency in a laboratory, or by means of an electronic synthesizer (a useful, important and valuable experience), such a sound would not sustain any prolonged musical interest. Almost every sound we hear in music consists of at least two frequency components. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1627

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why would a pure tone fail to sustain musical interest — is it a perceptual or cultural property? Worth chasing the psychoacoustic mechanism.
• XREF: connects to: Pure tones sound soft and pleasant but lack power — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1493; Complex tones above 6 kHz retain musical pitch while pure tones do not.

Broader Connections

• Pure tones sound soft and pleasant but lack power #expands (0.80) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1493
• Complex tones above 6 kHz retain musical pitch while pure tones do not. #expands (0.72)