But why certain associations of
sounds have such-and-such effects, is a problem which yet remains
to be solved. These effects must indeed, in some way or other,
be connected with the well-known arithmetical relations between
the rates of vibration of the sounds which form a musical scale.
And it is possible--but this is merely a suggestion--that the greater
or less mechanical facility with which the vibrating apparatus
of the human larynx passes from one state of vibration to another,
may have been a primary cause of the greater or less pleasure
produced by various sequences of sounds."
But leaving aside these complex questions and confining ourselves
to the simpler sounds, we can, at least, see some reasons for the
association of certain kinds of sounds with certain states of mind.
A scream, for instance, uttered by a young animal, or by one of
the members of a community, as a call for assistance, will naturally
be loud, prolonged, and high, so as to penetrate to a distance.
For Helmholtz has shown[7] that, owing to the shape of the internal
cavity of the human ear and its consequent power of resonance,
high notes produce a particularly strong impression.
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