0324: "Tapping"

[muteKi]

What's funny about this is that you can tap out a song on your desk, but in most cases only you will hear the actual song. Anyone else will just hear the tapping, and think it annoying. I think it's somewhat an audible illusion, since you're already playing the song in your head, so you expect the taps to correspond with the high and low notes of the song you are "playing." Anyone else won't hear it.

I remember hearing on the radio about a study where they actually tested that. The...tapee? only recognized the song 1 out of ...[some number between 20 and 100 that I do not remember] times.

Well, with most non-melodic percussion sounds, the tone is a set of atypical harmonics; when you hear a pitch that sounds like a certain note from hitting a table, you probably have heard it, but the reason most other people don't is that there are so many other harmonics going on that they can't distinguish it.

That would be something to try. Seed both the tapper and the listener with an initial pitch (like through a pitch pipe), and then see how successful they are.

[Ashbash]

On the rulers thing, about three years ago at year 12 talent 'night' (at lunch), one guy set up a desk and a ruler with a mic, and proceeded to play a concert of various songs. He was goooood. He even took requests.

[Conspiricy]

I wonder. If you place an amplifier and link it to the table can you confuse ships with morse code...That will make the navy think i'm in china, hehehe.

[fuzzball45]

That's a hypothetical situation.

Hypotheticals

[tiny]

I tap rhythms with my teeth and wiggle my feet as silent base drum, does that count?
...
Tooth on tooth, not teeth on table.

[Conspiricy]

I'm glad of that...your dentist would be a happy man if it was tooth on table.