| 9. Sound |
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Sound is produced when a body vibrates,
for example when a guitarist strums the strings of a guitar they move
back and forth and emit sound. These vibrations travel through the
air at a speed of 344m/s and are picked up by our hearing organs.
The eardrum amplifies the sounds and transmits them to certain cells
that communicate with the brain. These cells, which are highly sensitive,
are called sensory cells. The hearing cells of the sense of hearing
are hair-like filaments that oscillate according to the intensity
of the sound. If the sound is too loud, the sensory cells may be damaged
or destroyed.
The ear cannot be closed like the eyes or mouth, and so we are constantly
receiving auditory messages.
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| Using aesthetic criteria. Aesthetics is not
only a matter of tastes or preferences. Animals also have tastes
and we don’t say that they make aesthetic judgments. A judgment,
aesthetic or of any other sort, implies a distinction based upon
criteria and therefore it can be discussed and justified. |
| 1. |
What is the difference between an ordinary day
and beautiful day? |
| 2. |
What is the difference between an ordinary cat
and a beautiful cat? |
| 3. |
What is the difference between an ordinary name
and a beautiful name? |
| 4. |
What is the difference between an ordinary sound
and a beautiful sound? |
| 5. |
What is the difference between a pleasant sound
and an unpleasant sound? |
| 6. |
What is the difference between
an ordinary song and a beautiful song? |
| 7. |
Of the types of music that you
know, are there ones that are beautiful in one sense and others
that are beautiful in another sense? |
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Music. Listen carefully to The
Flight of the Bumblebee, by Nikolzi Rimsky Korsakov.
Do you find the music pleasant, amusing, original, annoying,
penetrating, danceable, etc.? |
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| Exercise. Reasoning
about sound, in Wondering at the World, 8.4.3 |
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| © Grup IREF 2003, with the support of the European Commission, DG XXII (Socrates/Comenius 3.2) |
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