There are many ways of observing the passage of time. Relatively slow changes, such as the seasons, are easy enough to observe qualitatively, but difficult to measure in comparison to, say, the relatively fast changes in the dripping of water or ticking of a metronome. Of the five “standard” senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing), it is interesting to notice that three of these senses allow for the precise measurement of time, while the other two offer very little capacity for doing so. That is, one could easily devise a timekeeping device solely dependent upon sight, sound, or touch; however, doing the same for smell or taste is not as obvious.

With sight, repetitive flashing lights are sufficient to keep time. The sense of hearing requires a pulsating beat, such as the ticking of a clock and a touch-based clock would have a physical device that provided this rhythm (a booming beat that can be felt, or something that interfaces with the skin–feeling the dropping of water for instance). Taste and smell pose their own problems, though. While slow changes can be sensed by either of these methods, a pulsating scent, for example, will not convey the regular pulsation that a pulsating light can.

When viewing live music, all three of the relevant senses come into play. This difference between live and recorded music is one of the appeals of live music. Instead of a 1/5 sensory experience, the concert attendee gets a 3/5 sensory experience where the music is concerned. Taste and smell may come into play at a concert atmosphere, but most likely not directly related to the music itself.