What causes a sound to have beauty?

….......................... I love you….......
Ahem,
um, I don’t know, but I do love beautifully placed melodies. :)

GQ! and welcome!

It depends on the person. That is why different people like different types of music.

I think it’s personal opinion.
I’m hopelessly addicted to music.. and the things that I consider beautiful are all over the place, really.
I’m in love with acoustic guitar quickest way to win my heart but then I also find certain artists Jeff Buckley to have a voice that I consider beautiful.

It is really interesting that certain voices can send chills up your back, whereas someone else singing the same song makes you go “Meh.”......

@Val123 Sends chills down my back.

it would have to fall in the 20–20,000 Hz range to be able to be hear – that is the beauty of it!

This is a great question. I do know that when new genres of music are introduced, they are often regarded by the public as disharmonious cacophony, such as when Strauss first introduced the waltz.

@rangerr When you said Jeff Buckley that’s the first thing I thought of, but maybe everyone would. He does sing well.

I think sometimes what causes a sound to have beauty are the surrounding noises/music that it blends with perfectly. On the other hand, sometimes just a single sound/melody not backed by any instruments or sound can also be beautiful.

@jfos wind chimes and leaves blowing in the wind on a slightly warm summer day just past noon.

@Axemusica ::swoons::

@rangerr
:)

The system of notes that we currently use to make (most) music is based on math. Here’s some more detail. Basically, music that (most of us) think is beautiful is based on the Fibonacci series (which is related to the Golden Ratio). This number makes a lot of beautiful things in nature, and certainly nature keeps coming back to that number in all kinds of places.

Of course, there is music that’s not based on this little mathematical slice of nature, but I believe it takes a certain acquired taste to be able to appreciate it. Most listeners would find it unharmonic, discordant, and, frankly, not beautiful.

like the saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” what sounds beautiful to one person is really nothing to somebody else. it’s where your spiritual thermometer is set. to some, the sound of water is relaxing, but others just say “it’s just water.” the sound of crickets on a warm summer night reminds one of his/her first kiss that very night. crickets to someone else is noise.

@laureth

I’m sure that’s how many people would feel about the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. I happen to find it beautiful, however, despite the fact that almost everything he’s written combines tonality with atonality. I certainly don’t find most atonal music beautiful, however.

for instance, i love the music of “steely dan.” the next person could care less. we relate to sound as it emotes us based on what we heard as children. the most beautiful sound to me is piano all by itself, playing emotional heartfelt chords or single notes.

love what you said laureth! great answer!

I love the sound of wind.

I have no idea. But GQ.

@rangerr Smelling salts.

To me, a composite sound is beautiful if the different parts are in tune, even if the whole is atonal.

There is nothing worse than an out of tune instrument playing along with the rest of the section. :P