524 Sensibility of the Human Ear for the Pitch of Musical Notes. 



occasion to be in different rooms for the sake of convenience, I 

 naturally endeavoured to finish tuning my fork by ear only. In 

 this, however, I found I could not succeed ; and having investi- 

 gated all the circumstances with the greatest care, I was led to 

 the following remarkable conclusion. 



I observed that a fork which I had tuned by holding it to my 

 right ear while the standard was held to my left, when compared 

 with the fork used for the exact pitch, made one vibration too 

 many in the course of several seconds ; while a fork tuned by 

 being held to my left ear while the standard was held to my 

 right, vibrated less rapidly than the other. The fork in accurate 

 pitch gave the lower note. Consequently T hear all notes some- 

 what higher with my right ear than with my left. 



I have since examined my musical friends, and I have not yet 

 found one, even among part-musicians, whose ears are precisely 

 alike in estimating the pitch of musical notes. By continued 

 practice I am able to distinguish, by a simple experiment, with 

 which ear anyone hears the highest*. In this experiment I have 

 never yet failed. The person under examination holds a care- 

 fully tuned fork in each hand, and having sounded them simul- 

 taneously, he brings them successively the one to the right, the 

 other to the left ear. I place my right ear at equal distances 

 from both of his, my left being turned away and covered lightly 

 with my hand. 



In this position that ear of the person under examination 

 near which the fork is held which seems to me to have the high- 

 est pitch, hears all sounds higher than the other. If the tuning- 

 forks are exchanged, precisely the same phenomenon results 

 with respect both to the person under examination and to the 

 listener. As far as my present experience extends, most people 

 (here in Cologne) hear higher with the right ear than with the 

 left. 



These experiments are so striking that no one has hitherto 

 attempted to dispute them. Indeed I had secured myself against 

 contradiction, by always requesting the gentlemen whose hearing 

 I tested to state their own opinions distinctly before I acquainted 

 them with my explanation of the phenomenon. This precau- 

 tion seemed to me to be necessary, since no one could blame a 

 musician for resisting the imputation that he heard differently 

 with different ears. In the end all were extremely astonished. 

 I pass over the various playful questions and remarks that have 

 been made to me — " Whether for the future, before begin- 

 ning a concert, the hearers are to be examined and a place 

 allotted to each according!)', where he may be able to hear with 

 satisfaction " — " Whether instrumentalists are to be separated 

 * Without their having told me anything on the subject. 



