Music is a powerful thing: It can raise our spirits, carry us through athletic challenges, and make us weep. Its very fabric is a source of power and intrigue, too, since just a measly few tones might ...

There’s an interval so dissonant that it’s earned the nickname ‘The Devil’s Interval’ and was avoided for centuries by composers and the pupils they taught. Before the invention of keyboard ...

Debates on the origins of consonance and dissonance in music have a long history. While some scientists argue that consonance judgments are an acquired competence based on exposure to the ...

The Tsimane’ – a population of people in a rural village in Bolivia – are overturning scientists’ understanding of why humans prefer consonant sounds over dissonant ones. By Hasan Chowdhury It was 29 ...