Ear as instrument

The place theory of pitch tells us how our ear acts as finely tuned resonatn instrument and provide us with perception of pitch of sound.

•High frequency sounds vibrates Basilar membrane in ear near the entrance and lower frequencies vibrate further down the membrane.
•In short a pitch is flat or sharp depending which part of basilar membrane is vibrated by sound wave.
•It is basically based on position of stimulation of hair cells in Basilar membrane.
•This membrane also helps us to decide between smoothness and roughness of sound i.e distinguish between harmony.