Tartini

The Tartini effect refers to the production of a sound that is physiologically audible, but that has no physical existence. It looks like a sonic hologram. In psychoacoustics, this phenomenon is also sometimes described as "combination tones". This compositional effect exists under very specific conditions: for instance, it is possible to hear a fundamental frequency reconstituted by the ear based on listening to two or more of its harmonics: a mixture of tones of 1000 Hz, 15000 Hz, and 2000 Hz, for example, will "provoke" the sensation of a 500 Hz tone. Although he was not the first to observe this phenomenon, the Italian composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770) is known for his extensive exploitation of this psychoacoustic effect. During the Age of Enlightenment he aroused much curiosity, as is revealed in contemporary dictionaries and treatises on music and harmony, and he remains a fascinating example of unconscious psychic process. The mystery of the effect – according to legend, Tartini had a dream in which his own G minor violin sonata (1713), also known as the "devil's trill," was performed for him by Satan – remains a fascination for contemporary audiences, kept alive not only in the performance of Tartini's compositions but also in electroacoustic works based on the same principle. The psychoacoustic illusion has become a sonic hologram. The magic of this 'diabolical' effect still amazes musicians, philanthropists, and thinkers, while inspiring technological and instrument-making research.