[sdiy] harmonics & vibrato - drums

[Tom May]

I noticed when I was a kid that I could get an after image more
quickly and it would be more intense if I mentally visualized
something else while staring.  It still works that way for me.  Also
the after image goes away more quickly with sudden eye movement.  If I
stare without moving my eyes I can retain the after image much longer.
I don't see a chemical theory accounting for these observations, it
seems more like a neural thing.

With regards to Grant's crackpot theory: I guess the drops in the
chinese water torture are random enough that they won't be tuned out
as a "stuck input" :-)

Tom.

Scott Gravenhorst <music.maker at gte.net> writes:

> Well, I'm not an MD, but I did study biology in college, to my recollection the
> inverse ghost image you see after staring at something a while is caused not by
> a neural mask, but rather by chemical fatigue of the receptor cell itself.  Red
> receptors, for example, become chemically depleted when constantly stimulated
> for a period of time.  Their output is then diminished until the chemical
> balance in that cell is restored, which takes a minute or two.  All of the
> other, less stimulated receptors then produce a larger signal in comparison,
> producing what is perceived as a color reversed ghost image of what had been
> stared at.
> 
> But that's the eye, I can't speak to your theory about a drummer.
> 
> I still say that a mildly randomized track sounds better than a quantized one.
> 
> Grant Richter <grichter at asapnet.net> wrote:
> >> Ok, this makes more sense.  But the question remains, is there a random
> >> factor or not?  If not, then why does doing a *slight* randomization
> >> (weighted in my case) sound better (um more "human") than a quantized track?
> >> 
> >
> >VERY Crackpot theory,
> >
> >Neural systems have a masking factor. This prevents a stuck input from tying
> >up the whole net. Like when you stare at something and it leaves a negative
> >image in your eye. The negative image is the mask generated by the neural
> >system.
> >
> >That may apply to time related items also, like when you are in a noisy room
> >and your ears adapt by "tuning" out the noise so you can hear better.
> >
> >It may be that drummers instinctively play around the outside of the neural
> >"mask" time. If they hit perfectly on the beat every time, they eventually
> >couldn't hear themselves.
> >
> 
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