Hi Mike,
To quote; 'without a great number of high harmonics, most people are at
a complete loss to decode the fundamental sounds, which represent
words.' This of course is why old codgers like me have more and more
difficulty understanding speech, because as we get older, the most
common frequency loss is the upper range. Hearing aids are just that,
aids, they'll never actually replace what's lost.
Regarding learning to listen being a learned talent, I couldn't agree
more. It's something I've only taken up in the last year or so, and even
though I have fairly poor hearing now, I have been surprised at how much
more, through learning/concentration, that I now hear - it clearly is
never too late!
Cheers
Max
On 15/05/2013 12:20, Michael Dalton wrote:
> I find the discussion of low-frequency sounds by birds interesting. In th=
e literature there is information about the syrinx and the ability of some =
birds to generate sounds below what one might expect.
> Working with my macaw, I notice that her speech contains elements down to=
about 38 Hz. I am not sure whether some of the frequencies are digital art=
ifacts; however, the sounds have a low-frequency characteristic.
>
> There is a problem with such sounds, because without a great number of hi=
gh harmonics, most people are at a complete loss to decode the fundamental =
sounds, which represent words. No matter what analysis is applied, I am fin=
ding that most people, including some nature recordists, are not very good =
at perceiving their own language spoken with an unusual timbre.
>
> Very surprising to me initially, I've now accepted that listening is a le=
arned talent that few people attempt. For now that puts me out in left fiel=
d without a paddle.
>
> Mike
> Florida
> http://www.parrotspeech.com/
>
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>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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