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Sensations of Tone

Helmholtz resonator, p. 121, fig. 32

On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (German Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik), commonly referred to as Sensations of Tone, is a foundational work on music acoustics and the perception of sound by Hermann von Helmholtz.[1]

The first German edition was published in 1863. The English translation by Alexander J. Ellis was first published in 1875 (the first English edition was from the 1870 third German edition; the second English edition from the 1877 fourth German edition was published in 1885; the 1895 and 1912 third and fourth English editions were reprints of the second edition).[2][3] The editions translated into English contain detailed commentary and notes (titled "Additions by the Translator") by Ellis.[4]

Helmholtz declared that he started working on his book in 1854, which concluded in 1862.[5]

Helmholtz started publishing on acoustics in 1852. His last article on acoustics was in 1878, reviewing the book by Lord Rayleigh (Theory of Sound). Therefore, Helmholtz published articles/books and gave lectures on acoustics for at least 24 years.[5]

The book's introduction, Dover edition from 1954,[6] by the German physicist Henry Margenau, with a list of selected publications by Helmholtz, is available here.

  1. ^ Helmholtz, Hermann von (1863). Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [The Study of the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Foundation for Music Theory] (in German) (1 ed.).
  2. ^ Helmholtz, Hermann von (1885) [1870]. Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [The Study of the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Foundation for Music Theory]. Translated by Ellis, A. J. (2 ed.).
  3. ^ Helmholtz, Hermann von (1912) [1870]. Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [The Study of the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Foundation for Music Theory]. Translated by Ellis, A. J. (4 ed.) – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Dufin, Ross W. (2008). How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care). W. W. Norton. pp. 105–106. ISBN 9780393334203. OCLC 227016333.
  5. ^ a b Cahan, David (11 September 2018). Helmholtz : A Life in Science. ISBN 978-0-226-54916-3. OCLC 1198932130.
  6. ^ Helmholtz, Hermann von (1954). On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (Second edition in English, translated by Alexander Ellis from the fourth German edition (1877), published in 1885 – facsimile by Dover Editions, 1954 ed.). New York: Dover Publications.

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