On the Sensations of Tone

by Hermann von Helmholtz

On the Sensations of Tone is one of the world's greatest scientific classics. It bridges the gap between the natural sciences and music theory and, nearly a century after its first publication, it is still a standard text for the study of physiological acoustics — the scientific basis of musical theory. It is also a treasury of knowledge for musicians and students of music and a major work in the realm of aesthetics, making important contributions to physics, anatomy, and physiology in its establishment of the physical theory of music. Difficult scientific concepts are explained simply and easily for the general reader.
The first two parts of this book deal with the physics and physiology of music. Part I explains the sensation of sound in general, vibrations, sympathetic resonances, and other phenomena. Part II cover combinational tones and beats, and develops Helmholtz's famous theory explaining why harmonious chords are in the ratios of small whole numbers (a problem unsolved since Pythagoras).
Part III contains the author's theory on the aesthetic relationship of musical tones. After a survey of the different principles of musical styles in history (tonal systems of Pythagoras, the Church, the Chinese, Arabs, Persians, and others), he makes a detailed study of our own tonal system (keys, discords, progression of parts).
Important points in this 576-page work are profusely illustrated with graphs, diagrams, tables, and musical examples. 33 appendices discuss pitch, acoustics, and music, and include a very valuable table and study of the history of pitch in Europe from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

Genres: Music, Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Psychology, Philosophy, Art

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1863

About the author

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (August 31, 1821 – September 8, 1894) was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science. In physiology and psychology, he is known for his mathematics of the eye, theories of vision, ideas on the visual perception of space, color vision research, and on the sensation of tone, perception of sound, and empiricism. In physics, he is known for his theories on the conservation of energy, work in electrodynamics, chemical thermodynamics, and on a mechanical foundation of thermodynamics. As a philosopher, he is known for his philosophy of science, ideas on the relation between the laws of perception and the laws of nature, the science of aesthetics, and ideas on the civilizing power of science. The largest German association of research institutions, the Helmholtz Association, is named after him.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that I read twice cover to cover on the train during commutes... It's fairly dense reading. There's a lot of info in here that is somewhat dated at this point, but also a lot of valuable stuff. Because it's basically "historical" it might be best to read in a guided setting, unless you already have a background in tuning and temperament.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book which ought to be de rigeur for the composer, includes a chart which gives scope and range of pitch in Khz and the octave scale for a few dozen instruments. As well as great technical information...

[Mikael Lind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense but amazing book on the physics of sound, acoustics, hearing, and the relationship between the science of sound and our aesthetic foundation of music. I can't really get myself to read it all from beginning to end, but I keep coming back to it, reading selected chapters back and forth. A classic in its field, and this edition is beautiful, with awesome images. Despite having over 100 years on its back, this is an awesome book, and a must-have for anybody who wants a deeper understanding of how sound is produced, how it is experienced by us listeners, and how musical foundations are at least partly built around certain physical realities of sound (the overtone series, for example).

[Jodi Gianakopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incomparable.
I discovered this from watching Full Mantis, the Milford Graves documentary.

[Yui Inoue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is esoteric, yet fascinating. I needed to google parts in order to comprehend it. A reader with a mathematical/musical background will find the author's descriptions easier to understand. My husband is a composer, and helped me understand some of the author's concepts. I read the book cover to cover, but slowly. Just a snippet from the book: "The clarinet has a cylindrical tube, the proper tones, of which correspond to the: third, fifth..." I like that the author doesn't 'dumb-down' his writing. A must read for musicians. It will illuminate what actually happens when a musical note is sounded.

[Jessica]

One of the first truly scientific expositions on music cognition.

[Francisco Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking through gateways of music with a based on science point of view. Very good and useful for scientists and musicians!

[Plato · Rating 5 out of 5]

💯💯bestie this still holds up today fr. fr. Musicians would love this no cap 🎼