Sounds within one critical band cause neural interference producing dissonance

Evidence

Two sounds falling within the same critical band are actually trying to activate the same parts of the basilar membrane, even if they have somewhat different frequency content. It cannot be too far from the truth to say that the basilar membrane and the organ of Corti are already “busy” with one signal, and if another shows up in the same region, they are less sensitive to it. The issue of the critical bandwidth goes beyond sensitivity: if two sounds try to activate the same zone, some neural interference may set in, causing a sensation of roughness. This is one of the sources, perhaps the main source, of dissonance; we take this up again in chapter 26. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2010

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s stated why-do-we-hear question as a mechanistic bridge between physics of the basilar membrane and the perception of musical dissonance.