The Place Principle

by Greg Crowther

Georg von Bekesy's research on the human cochlea established the "place principle," as encapsulated in this jingle, originally written for Biology 220 at the University of Washington.

Which pitch will make your hair cells twitch?
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
Which pitch will make your hair cells twitch?
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
When I talk to ya through your cochlea?
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
When I talk to ya through your cochlea?
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
From apex to base, each pitch has a place!
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
From apex to base, each pitch has a place!
(Doo, doot, doo, doot.)
When I talk to ya through your cochlea,
You'll hear; you'll hear!
When I talk to ya through your cochlea,
You'll hear; you'll hear!

• karaoke (call-and-response version)

• MP3 (demo)

• music video

• sheet music (call-and-response version; with melody playback)

• sheet music (as a round; with melody playback)

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) This jingle states, "Every pitch has its place." Which specific structure within the ear -- where different parts respond to different frequencies of sound -- is being referenced here?

(2) How does the melody of this jingle reinforce its meaning?