pitch

[HARTMANN@xxxxxxxxxx]

Dear List,

        Here is a technical note on the description of pitch.

The discussion to date has not distinguished between prothetic and
metathetic quantities. Prothetic is associated with amount;  metathetic
is a point on a scale. Loudness is prothetic, we say, "More loudness."
Pitch is metathetic, we say, "Higher pitch." We don't say, "More pitch."

Therefore, it is not appropriate to compare pitch (metathetic) with the
mass of animals (prothetic).

For more about this there is the book by Larry Marks called the New
Psychophysics, or the book by me called Signals, Sound, and Sensation
(Chapter 4).

Best,

Bill Hartmann

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