# Help resolve the stupidest argument ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908 "2006-02-03T22:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/1 "2006-02-03T22:17:03Z")
So there’s a sound file [here](http://rapidshare.de/files/12489527/win.wav.html) containing a sound effect from a computer game. My roommates and I realized that when we hum this sound effect, we hum it vastly differently. So we’re conducting a poll to see how other people would hum it. So listen to this sound, and then think of how you would hum it, that is, how you perceive it if you have to pick out a single distinctive note at a time. There are two primary options: (1) The fourth and final note is higher than the third note, approximately as high as the second note (2) The fourth and final note is lower than the third note How would you hum it? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/2 "2006-02-03T22:22:04Z")
no speakers at work - catch ya later when I’m at home ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/3 "2006-02-03T22:24:49Z")
Absolutely tone-deaf here, but I would say the sequence of notes goes: High-Low-Medium-Low. So - both of your options? The fourth note is (a) lower than the third (b) about the same pitch as the second. ---
**Author:** ![exastris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b38774/32.png) [@exastris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exastris)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/4 "2006-02-03T22:33:04Z")
There are a couple of notes being played at a time, fanfare style. Maybe you are humming the melody and your buddy the harmony- or vice versa. As a side note (groan), there are “audio illusions” which some people will hear as one thing, other people another. (okay I’m tired, and that’s poorly worded, but you get the point. To me it sounds like the notes go up, to you they go down. . .) Its very interesting. I first heard some of them with a bunch of musician friends. We all thought we’d hear the same thing after so many years of ear training. We were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/5 "2006-02-03T22:39:58Z")
The _second_ note is the highest of the four “notes”. Which makes this wrong: > [@](#): > > (1) The fourth and final note is higher than the third note, approximately as high as the second note …because none of them are “approximately as high as the second note”; but > [@](#): > > (2) The fourth and final note is lower than the third note …is also wrong. The fourth and final note is higher than the third note. If we set the initial pitch to A, you have A, the E a fifth above it, the F two steps below it, and finishing up with the G one step below it. Here is is at the same pitch but [slowed down](http://home.earthlink.net/~ahunter03/Stuff/SlowerGameSound.mp3). As you can more easily tell, the third note has a very brief duration in comparison with the others. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/6 "2006-02-03T22:41:40Z")
Thats a tough one, I can see why you’re hearing it 2 different ways. I listened a few times, at first I thought it was option 2, but I’m 95% sure it’s option 1. I wish I still had my piano. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/7 "2006-02-03T22:49:44Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > So there’s a sound file [here](http://rapidshare.de/files/12489527/win.wav.html) containing a sound effect from a computer game. My roommates and I realized that when we hum this sound effect, we hum it vastly differently. So we’re conducting a poll to see how other people would hum it. > > So listen to this sound, and then think of how you would hum it, that is, how you perceive it if you have to pick out a single distinctive note at a time. > There are two primary options: > (1) The fourth and final note is higher than the third note, approximately as high as the second note > (2) The fourth and final note is lower than the third note > How would you hum it? > > Thanks The second way for me. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/8 "2006-02-03T23:00:55Z")
Second option for me. I hear: Medium High MediumLow Low ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2006, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/9 "2006-02-03T23:12:52Z")
On first listening, I hear approximately G up a fifth to D, sinking to the E flat below the initial G, then rising to F. Listening more, I can barely hear instead of the E flat a C just below the D. Somewhat like **AHunter3** , I slowed it down by half (but also halved the pitch), and that showed the C actually is the highest note at that moment. Perceptual error of my amateur musical ear or inadequacy of my PC’s sound? Dunno. I have experienced the former before. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/10 "2006-02-04T00:20:02Z")
I had to play it to try and get it right, but I heard some of the same notes. There’s several notes in there, of course. I’m not that good at identifying chords but this seems at least to make some sense (read: I know some of what I’m talking about, but I could be way off in what I hear). The first beat is a C Maj chord. Bass line has C, top note is G (and there may or may not be an E in there). Then we have an F Maj chord. Top note is C, middle note is F. Bass is still C. The middle has a ‘passing tone’ to Eb (I think there’s actually a different name than this – when the chord temporarily goes away then resolves fully). On the final beat we come to a full F Maj chord. The bass comes up to F - we end up with F,A,C and F from bottom to top. This gives a nice V-I cadence, which is what it sounds like to me. As noted, different people will concentrate on different notes of the chords. To try out some simple melody lines with just a web browser, you can[go here](http://www.musipedia.org/keyboard_search.0.html). Copy and paste into the line and click ‘play’ to hear it there. Highest notes : g’‘4 c’‘8 dis’‘8 f’'2 (this is what I actually hear/focus on more) : g’‘4 f’‘8 dis’‘8 f’'2 Bass line : c’2 f’2 (This is using Lilypond syntax, explained in the link) ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/11 "2006-02-04T21:35:27Z")
**(2) The fourth and final note is lower than the third note** ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/12 "2006-02-04T21:55:14Z")
OK, I’m apparently dumbass because I have yet to figure out how to download a file from Rapidget. I always end up at the screen that tells me what file I’ve requested, but never actually get a file. Does it just not work with Firefox? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/13 "2006-02-04T22:35:58Z")
Did you enter the security code displayed (to defeat robots)? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/14 "2006-02-04T22:38:49Z")
It doesn’t give me the option to. And, it claims I’ve downloaded from them, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/15 "2006-02-04T22:40:31Z")
All I get is a web Site. Is there something there I am supposed to click on? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/16 "2006-02-04T22:40:49Z")
You have to scroll down near the bottom and click “free”. It’s weird. I got it with firefox. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/17 "2006-02-04T23:50:45Z")
I’m with **AHunter3**. And now I’ll be singing “one-and-two-e-three” to myself for the rest of the night. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/18 "2006-02-05T06:19:24Z")
I think I hear option two, but there are probably at least two or three notes for each “note” and it’s just a matter of which one is heard more prominently. If you enjoyed this thread, I recommend googling “auditory illusions” and clicking around. By the way, with over 3,000 posts under your belt, you should know that MPSIMS (and for that matter SDMB) is not going to “resolve” any argument, but rather extend it. I hope you’re amused in either case. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-resolve-the-stupidest-argument-ever/342908/19 "2006-02-05T14:50:13Z")
I hear different notes being played simultaneously. The main sequence goes medium-high-medium-low and there is also a high-high sound that you don’t hear much in the first half because there’s more noise but it comes out in the second half. And at the end there is a sort of bass “duuunn”. At least, that’s how I hear it.