Western dynamic hierarchy in music is a trained perceptual illusion

Evidence

Just as objects are rank-ordered in perspective painting, depending on their distance from the viewer, so musical sounds are rank-ordered by means of their dynamic emphasis in the virtual space of the soundscape. It is an equally deliberate illusion which centuries of training turned into a habit. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 513

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the reader’s art-soundscape framing: perspective in painting and dynamic planes in music as twin illusions. — connects to: Western music’s privileged intervals show no perceptual detection advantage; Acoustic illusions reveal perception mechanisms and shape music performance — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1615; Musical illusions only work when the listener’s expectations have been pre-established
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 513