Why is it that, in an orchestra, the high-pitched strings are always on the left and the low-pitched strings are always on the right? Richard Kunert’s answer involves more than a little dose of brain chemistry.
magine yourself at a concert hall looking at a symphonic orchestra on stage. Have you ever noticed that high-pitched strings sit left of low-pitched strings? Going from left to right, one usually sees violins, violas, cellos and double basses. That is, one moves from high pitches on the left to low pitches on the right. Why? The orchestra’s arrangement is not a cultural oddity, like driving on the right side of the road. Rather, it is due to our own biological makeup.
Higher pitches tend to be better processed by the left hemisphere of the brain, while lower pitches tend to be better processed... Keep reading on Aeon
magine yourself at a concert hall looking at a symphonic orchestra on stage. Have you ever noticed that high-pitched strings sit left of low-pitched strings? Going from left to right, one usually sees violins, violas, cellos and double basses. That is, one moves from high pitches on the left to low pitches on the right. Why? The orchestra’s arrangement is not a cultural oddity, like driving on the right side of the road. Rather, it is due to our own biological makeup.
Higher pitches tend to be better processed by the left hemisphere of the brain, while lower pitches tend to be better processed... Keep reading on Aeon