Rapid beating between nearby partials causes perceived dissonance

Evidence

The Helmholtz theory of dissonance is based on the unpleasant rapid beating or roughness of nearby sinusoidal partials. In figuring the degree of dissonance of two complex tones, we need to assign an appropriate penalty based on the human reaction to pairs of partials. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2324

Categorization

• DEFINE: States the core causal mechanism of Helmholtz’s theory: roughness from beating of nearby partials is what produces dissonance.
• XREF: connects to: Consonance and dissonance judgments stem from critical bandwidth mechanics — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 934