Abstract
In musicology consonance is defined as the state where two or more tones simultane-
ously presented sound pleasantly. Sensory consonance, which is perceived from tones
isolated from a musical context, is largely independent of listener’s cultural background
and musical experience. Several studies revealed that infants prefer consonant tones
to dissonant tones and that nonhuman animals discriminate between consonant and
dissonant tones. Since Helmholtz introduced the concept of sensory consonance in the
19th century, sensory consonance has been studied actively. In the 1960s models became
able to estimate the perceived consonance of complex tones from the physical properties
of the tones. However, sensory consonance still contains a number of problems to be
solved and has been studied by multiple approaches. This paper reviews the advances
and issues in studies on consonance, especially sensory consonance.
