Shepard Tone
October 23, 2012 6:04 AM Subscribe
A Shepard tone, named after Roger Shepard, is a sound consisting of a superposition of sine waves separated by octaves. When played it creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually ascends or descends in pitch, yet which ultimately seems to get no higher or lower. (wiki)
Recent example the end of Wilco's "Born to Die"
Wilco shepard tone
or The Beatles "I am the Walrus"
Walrus Shepard Tone
Historical example would be JS Bach "Never ending Canon"
Bach Shepard Tone
The Shepard tone supposedly elicits a similar response to most folks who listen to it, that it is foreboding, possibly depressing, even scary.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey, this is something that might good for your own blog, but Mefi posts need links to articles or something on the web instead of a write-up by the poster (or a straight wiki link), and the divshare links are also a problem. Contact us if you have questions. -- taz
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