1.3 The Sonic Structure (Individual Sonic Capacity of the Listener)

The sonic structure of any individual is a complex array of mental and physical schemata: memories, preferences, associations, reactions, meanings, systems, interpretations, physiological and neurological responses. The auditory system consists of the pinna (outer ear), the ear canal, eardrum, ossicles (middle ear bones - hammer, anvil and stirrup), oval window and round window, vestibule, cochlea, basilar membrane, tectorial membrane, cilia, Eustachian tube and auditory nerve. The auditory nerve leads to the auditory cortex, the part of the brain which processes sound into something meaningful. The auditory system is also responsible for locating the source of a sound. Carlson and Buskist (1997, 180) state that humans hear nothing meaningful in an instant, that sound must be interpreted over time because sound is temporal. Obviously some people have perfect pitch and as such can identify the pitch of a tone and timbre in an instant, yet whether that is in fact meaningful is open to interpretation. Another possible flaw in this statement can be shown by the example of the early morning radio show competition where a one second snippet of a song is played and listeners can phone in if they think they recognise the piece to win money. This example shows that humans can in fact hear something meaningful in an instant, but perhaps only through constant exposure and the capacity to recall the context for the one second fragment. (See Appendix 4, for a description of the physical processes of hearing.)