http://mindhacks.com/2008/07/17/audio-rising-high-illusion/ Neuroscience and psychology news and views. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:47:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://mindhacks.com/2008/07/17/audio-rising-high-illusion/#comment-6512 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:44:31 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/audio-rising-high-illusion/#comment-6512 Hi JM, thanks for the correction. Now fixed! And thanks for suggesting the track, I shall try and track it down, it sounds great.

]]> http://mindhacks.com/2008/07/17/audio-rising-high-illusion/#comment-6511 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:42:30 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/audio-rising-high-illusion/#comment-6511 (Note the correct spelling: “Shepard”)
I think it would be called a Shepard scale, since it’s not one single tone, but it’s the same effect. Upper octaves fade out and lower octaves fade in, and we hear them as fused into single tones because they’re at harmonic (1:2) ratios. I usually compare it to an old spinning barbershop pole when I describe it.
Incidentally, some give composer James Tenney more credit for it than Roger Shepard, but I only heard that from a student of Tenney’s. His composition “For Ann (Rising)” is beautiful; it uses a Shepard tone.
JM

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