Previous theories about how we appreciate music have been based on the physical properties of sound, the ear itself, and a natural ability to hear harmony, says Neil McLachlan, an associate professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
“Our study shows that musical harmony can be learned and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds,” says McLachlan.
“So if you thought that the music of some exotic culture (or jazz) sounded like the wailing of cats, it’s simply because you haven’t learned to listen by their rules.”
“What we found was that people needed to be familiar with sounds created by combinations of notes before they could hear the individual notes. If they couldn’t find the notes they found the sound dissonant or unpleasant,” McLachlan explains.
“This finding overturns centuries of theories that physical properties of the ear determine what we find appealing.”