Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

But what does that mean 'stronger relationship'? It's like saying "Ketchup always works on fries". Traditionally, it does. But not everyone likes ketchup, and not everyone likes fries, and there are probably people who like both only independently. In some countries, people like mayo with fries, in other the thought of mixing the two is repulsive.

This is my main issue with theory. It can tell you where things are distant, but the strength of the relationship between two things is entirely interpretable.

You can't mathematically chart one's enjoyment. Personally, I think music is way too mathematically focused, and not conceptually focused enough. Tell somebody what chords are playing in a song, they'll be interested for two seconds. Tell somebody what the song is 'about', they'll remember that every time they listen.

To me, sometimes theory sounds like counting the length of the scenes of a movie to figure out whether it's a good movie or not.

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Al Pacino = God

Rubato

I'm not quite sure I get the analogy, yes someones taste for dissonance can vary but the level of dissonance will still get higher the further you go from the fundamental. If it's half the frequency it occurs more times so it gives more support. 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 +1/8 as apposed to 1/7 + 1/14 +1/14 ect.

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

Yes, but we're speaking of sample based recording, electronically altered sounds, and electronically created sounds. A siren will always be dissonant, no matter what pitch you tune it to. In the same sense, maybe the sound of waves sounds dissonant at different pitches than say... a piano.

You have to remember this concept of pitch-based dissonance was ENTIRELY developed in acoustic realms. Even then adjustments were made. Some instrumentalists in orchestral settings are actually playing at different frequencies than others(I believe that trumpets actually play an octave lower, or higher than what it says on the sheet paper. I could be misinformed though). Furthermore, notes are transposed with methods developed on how different instruments play each other.

You can't just take ideas that apply to a flat grand piano, and bring them into electronics. Pitch frequencies mean much less when there's as many variable attributes on the textures themselves that must be taken into consideration.

Take a multi-band equalizer for instance. I can take a violin, and take it's full pitch, and turn the lowest pitches up, the highest pitches down, and the middle pitches random. No matter what I'd play, it'd be dissonant no matter what I play, because large chunks of the frequency band will be altered.

However, that dissonance can sound amazing. So amazing that, in fact, it can obsolete the concept of labeling the sound in it's altered state as 'dissonant' or 'not dissonant'.

__________________
Al Pacino = God

Rubato

well yes the dissonance can sound amazing, but it doesn't make it more consonant than a pitch with it's closest overtones showing. The whole reason it sounds interesting is because of the conflict.