This subject is fascinating. It certainly demonstrates what a
marvelous piece of audio equipment we humans have.
Some time in the past I saw a program that discussed our perceptions
of an orchestra performance. Unfortunately, my memory is a bit vague,
but here is the gist.
Early orchestras were seated differently than today. I think the main
difference was that one or more of the violin sections was seated to
the audience's right. An experiment was done on this program where an
orchestra piece fragment (that would have been composed for the earlier
seating) was played. It was played with both seating arrangements.
Most of the audience stated that the main melody line was different.
In other words, the "tune" changed (to their perceptions) depending
on the placement of the orchestra groups!
So, suppose we record the two different performances and then try our
WAV analysis.
Again, my recollection is a bit vague. Maybe someone in the group
remembers more about this interesting program.
Will Dahlgren
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