We use the term “higher” to describe notes of smaller wavelengths, and this term seems strangely fitting in a way that I don’t quite understand. For example, when a band is playing heavy bass notes and then a singer comes in with treble notes, it seems like the vocal notes are actually physically *higher* (like, in the room or in my ears) than the bass notes.
Is this a real thing? Or am I just imagining it? Or is it just subconscious association with the words “high” and “low” which we use to describe these notes? Or maybe I’m just noticing that speakers and venues usually put the woofers on the bottom and the tweeters on the top?
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A lot of this is due to personal perspective so there likely isn’t a completely objective answer, but once possible reason is how different sounds wavelengths affect the body.
Lower frequencies tend to vibrate hollow objects more, and our lungs/chest cavity is a big hollow space that is more easily vibrated by low frequencies. Therefore, we’re a lot more likely to feel lower frequencies in our chest, giving that physical sensation that it’s “lower,” while higher frequencies we only hear in our ears/head, giving the sensation that they’re “higher.”
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