What is normal?

[CherryFive]

Someone I don’t know (his name is ME) used ayahuasca not too long ago. I'm not sure if everyone is familiar with it, but it's a pretty neat little psychedelic.
But forget all that. I'm more interested in specific biological properties and the changes that come when psychedelics and the like are taken.

While on Ayahuasca, one thing ME found insanely interesting was my hearing.
I am a musician and write and record music regularly. The music I compose I suppose harks back to the 1970's - heavily arranged, and less accessible but highly musical and proficient. While on Ayahuasca, ME put on my most recent demo to show my friends, and while in the dark, they had a great mind feast with what I imagine to be vivid lucid visions. While I had those nice lucid visions, the thing that most interested me was my perception of pitch. The first song on the demo clocks in at around 15 minutes, and I spent a great deal of time recording it, so my mind's "ear" is quite familiar with the proper pitch/tempo etc.

But a funny thing happened. While playing the demo under the influence, I heard a DIFFERENT pitch and tempo!

The song kept speeding up, and slowing down. Weirdest of all - the pitch kept changing. What was "normally" a C actually sounded like a D#, yet this relation wasn't quite that consistent. Where a C note would normally have been also sounded like a C sharp, or even lower like a B.

My first question to myself was, "then, how do I know what a normal pitch is?". What is "normal" ??

What specifically did the ayahuasca do to ME's hearing, that caused him to hear improper pitches?

Let's use a fly as an example. I've learned that a fly usually outruns you because when you swat at it, it's brain processes vision at a much slower rate. The fly sees my hand moving slower than it actually is...but what is "actually"? To the fly, it's vision rate is "normal" because that's just how it is.
To me, my speed of vision is "normal" because that's how it is. To me, when a play a C chord on my piano, it's normal because that's the rate of my hearing perception.

But what about being under the influence of Ayahuasca? When ME plays a C chord on my piano under the influence of ayahuasca, it doesn't sound like a "C". It sounds like a different note. It can sound like a D, or a B flat. So my real question is, what exactly in my brain decides what a "normal" auditory perception is? And when that perception is altered by ayahuasca, what part inside of my auditory receptors is it changing to make me hear different pitches than what is otherwise "normal"?

I'm really looking for an answer, because I just have to know about these things. I've read about "rate theory" and how our perception of sound/pitch is determined by the rate of auditory neurons firing, but that's about all I've been able to find. This little vague description doesn't move me. Can anyone add anything, or help me answer my question? Has anyone else ever wondered this? I would really like to get a more scientific discussion started, rather than a spiritual "far out" thing. ME was coherent enough on ayahuasca to play a C chord on his piano and wonder "why the hell is the pitch changing!"

Thanks.

Reputation Comments on this post:

interesting

[bottlekop]

swibk saw a documentary about how different animals perceive things at different rates. The humming bird lives a fast (and short) life, and his state of mind/perception of time is very fast. Everthing happens quickly, and he respondes quickly as well. Whereas the elphant is much larger and slower in nature, so it also experiences things at a slower (but I asume more detailed) rate. Perception of time is interesting. Swibk thinks that everthing is infact controlled and determined by our perception/state of mind.
Sure, some things are deffinettely real (like the orange I am eatting ), but it is my state of mind that determinrd my perception of the orange. My perception may be that I like/ don't like the taste/smell of the orange. The colour may apeal to me or not. It is quite small, but that's also relative to my state of thinking. It is small compared to me but smaller to my house. However it is bigger than the ant.so is it big or small? And what is it's use, what is it for? Is it inherently good or evil, or neither? Or maby it's just a god damn orange! And this isn't important at all...

what do you think...?

[Trebor]

It'd be interesting if you were to upload the music onto the site for me to run through and analytical program. Or to get Swim to try listening while on various substances. As for the the question of what is normal, you'd be well advised if some said to look up ayahuasca songs. They are made my the Shamans of the cultures that use Ayahasca and would have experience.

[turkeyphant]

Nobody knows. Look up DiPT and all the discussion surrounding it.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dipt/dipt.shtml
http://www.erowid.org/library/books_...tihkal04.shtml

[Voices]

This was a good post.

That dude ME experienced Relativity first hand, no?

[CherryFive]

Originally Posted by Voices

This was a good post.

That dude ME experienced Relativity first hand, no?

very first hand!

[Alicia]

Not related but to the question "What is normal" but felt the need to anyway. there is no such thing apart from what is considered social norms everyone has there own perception of normality hence there is no such thing as normal what is normal to one person is entirely different to another in there terms of normality.

[El Calico Loco]

Normal? No such animal.

http://www.rawilson.com/csicon.shtml


ECL

[BEEKSc1]

normal refers to the occurrence of the most frequent. you asked about the normal perception of sound pertaining to the note of C. the nomination of note C was arbitrary and sounds are relative to the other notes, so if your hearing a C higher, you will also hear the D, E, F, ect at the same increased level of tonal steps.

Are you absolutely sure you have pitch perfect hearning and were perceiving those tones correcting. When sounds were altered when perceived by SWIM who smoked it, took it to the dome, and ate (w/ syrian rue) 5-Meo-Dmt, yes the distortion of time is very relevant when listening to music; seems like an regular trip but condensed, considerably. but SWIM thinks the your perceived alteration of tonal quality may have been some intense timbre effects created and enhanced by the uniqueness of one's outer ear.
Timbre is the viberations created from the pure tone of a note, that transpire from reviberations off the instrument itself and further individualized by the unique shape of persons' outer ear.