In recent months there takes been a lot of talk about 8D
music , mainly as a result of a video that went virus-related on WhatsApp, but
does 8D music really exist or is it just a marketing invention?
According to the interview granted to Infobae by the music
producer Andrés Mayo, the term 8D does not respond to a scientific definition,
but rather a marketing one, of this sound.
The 8D sound , perceptible only if we use headphones,
recreates the sensation of receiving the audio as if it were a real situation,
that is, providing information from different points, as if you were surrounded
by speakers.
When you listen to 8D audio, your brain perceives some
sounds as if they came from specific areas of space. And it does not focus only
on the left or right side, but includes other dimensions such as up or down.
According to some authorities in the field, the name of 8D
music responds more to a marketing resource than to a reality since it is a 3D
sound or binaural audio . It is also known as immersive sound or holophony .
Holophonic sounds were created in the 1980s by Hugo Zuccarelli , an Argentine
engineer. Its evolution today has led to the post-production of a large number
of highly successful songs that are covered using this 8D technology.
In case you still don't know the effect of 8D music, put on
your headphones and listen to the following video-test:
What technology is behind 8D music
Starting from the use of a 3D mannequin created by Hugo
Zuccarelli for the recording of the holophonic sound (it allowed to record the
sound as perceived by each ear thanks to the placement of artificial hearing
organs in which microphones are placed where the ears should be) , this
technology is based on several physical principles related to sound such as:
time delay, Hass effect, wavelength and masking. Of these, it is the Hass
effect that can serve to further explain the characteristics of 8D music. Let's
see what it consists of.
The Hass effect
The Hass effect, rather than being a physical phenomenon, is
a psychological effect. Discovered in 1949 by Dr. Helmut Hass, it is also known
as the "precedence effect."
The Hass effect states that when one sound is followed by
another with a delay time of 40 milliseconds or less, the brain perceives it as
a single sound. Furthermore, the spatial location of the first sound is the one
that also establishes that of the second by identifying itself as one. From
there, the reflections or subsequent noises that arrive with a short delay
bring a sense of depth and breadth to the sound, even if we do not perceive
them as individual.
This effect has been used in the music industry to create
new listening experiences based on width, depth and to give directionality to
sound mixes.
From the Hass effect to 8D sound
Starting from the principle established by the Hass effect,
8D music plays with the emission distance of the sound source so that, although
a sound is heard in both ears, the brain only takes into account the closest
source. The oscillation of this source creates a virtual space of sound similar
to the sound of nature. Thanks to this, we can come to appreciate a third
dimension in a song that, in theory, is flat.
Advances in music technology and software make it possible
to create spatial reverb algorithms and effects that manipulate the various
stereo parts of a song to recreate that spatial feel.
Despite the fact that in the 80s the 8D sound began to be
heard in music through groups such as Pink Floyd or Michael Jackson , in recent
years it has acquired greater relevance and fame through social networks and
youtubers who create versions of known hits using 8D technology.
A clear example can be this version of the well-known hit
"Halo" by Beyoncé that became a viral phenomenon in WhatsApp messages
during the months of confinement:
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