The paper by R. Plomp and W. J. M. Levelt explores the relationship between tonal consonance and critical bandwidth, building on von Helmholtz's theory that consonance is related to the absence of beats between adjacent partials of tones with simple frequency ratios. The authors review various explanations of tonal consonance, including those based on frequency ratios, harmonic relationships, beats between harmonics, difference tones, and fusion. Through experimental studies, they find that the transition range between consonant and dissonant intervals is related to critical bandwidth. Specifically, consonant intervals are evaluated for frequency differences exceeding this bandwidth, while the most dissonant intervals correspond to frequency differences of about a quarter of the critical bandwidth. The authors also analyze chords from two musical compositions (J. S. Bach's Trio Sonata for Organ No. 3 in C minor and A. Dvořák's String Quartet Op. 51 in E♭ major) to determine if critical bandwidth plays a role in music. They find that the density of simultaneous partials in these chords changes as a function of frequency, similar to critical bandwidth. This suggests that critical bandwidth is indeed important in music, influencing the perception of consonance and dissonance in complex tones.The paper by R. Plomp and W. J. M. Levelt explores the relationship between tonal consonance and critical bandwidth, building on von Helmholtz's theory that consonance is related to the absence of beats between adjacent partials of tones with simple frequency ratios. The authors review various explanations of tonal consonance, including those based on frequency ratios, harmonic relationships, beats between harmonics, difference tones, and fusion. Through experimental studies, they find that the transition range between consonant and dissonant intervals is related to critical bandwidth. Specifically, consonant intervals are evaluated for frequency differences exceeding this bandwidth, while the most dissonant intervals correspond to frequency differences of about a quarter of the critical bandwidth. The authors also analyze chords from two musical compositions (J. S. Bach's Trio Sonata for Organ No. 3 in C minor and A. Dvořák's String Quartet Op. 51 in E♭ major) to determine if critical bandwidth plays a role in music. They find that the density of simultaneous partials in these chords changes as a function of frequency, similar to critical bandwidth. This suggests that critical bandwidth is indeed important in music, influencing the perception of consonance and dissonance in complex tones.