Fletcher Munson curve

The Fletcher Munson curve relates to how human perception of sound is not flat across all frequencies. Dallas Taylor, a guest on the The Jordan Harbinger Show, explains that we do not perceive all frequencies equally; low frequencies need more energy for us to hear them, and the perception of high frequencies starts to diminish as they trail off. He uses the example of a xylophone or marimba to illustrate how instruments are designed to accommodate our hearing perceptions. The low notes on a marimba have long tubes for resonance, reflecting the effort needed to make low frequencies audible. Similarly, there is a curve at both low and high ends, showing how our hearing interprets the real world. Sounds may be very loud at high or low pitches without being perceived as loud due to the Fletcher Munson curve. This phenomenon also affects sound engineering practices, such as the need to boost the low end of music when it's played under dialogue to maintain the perceived bass, since the first thing lost due to our hearing curve is the low frequency 1.