I think it feels tingly because of all the overtone interactions between those whole numbers. The bass's overtones reinforce all the other fundamentals; then there'll be strong overlaps at 12, 15, 20, etc.
Conversation
In my experience, this effect is much stronger when singing with less vibrato and quite a bright timbre (i.e. more upper overtones!). I hadn't really understood this—I sing mostly contemporary pop—but barbershop stylistic choices are mostly in pursuit of this effect.
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They lean heavily on dominant sevenths, which (tuned in just temperament) are the 4, 5, 6, and 7th harmonics of a root two octaves down. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_ Lots of interesting overtone interactions create an angelic "fifth voice" singing high above! "Ringing chords".
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How do inversions/dispositions influence the effect?
eg If the Notre Dame cadence resolved to root triad instead of second inv above bass: 1, 2, 5/2, 3 instead of 1, 3, 4, 5. That'd emphasize a root-fifth interaction, which might detract from the sus resolution of the third.
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I experience something like this effect with close dissonant chords, too, which barbershop eschews. What's going on there?
e.g. in Eric Whitacre's music, there are lots of so-called "fist chords". These sometimes produce the effect for me too! Why? Overtones aren't very aligned.
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Why is this effect so much stronger for the singer than for the listener?
There's something in being the *causer*, but it's also physical: when the effect occurs, It feels like my voice, my chest, the air in my lungs, my muscles, all resonate with the room and the other singers.
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Why is this physical sensation so powerful?
It feels almost overwhelming sometimes! Like being given over to a "higher power" for a moment. It's beautiful, moving… and a little eerie. Why do we respond this way? Odd!
"Sense and Sensation in Barbershop": jstor.org.sci-hub.se/stable/41700111
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Goofy question I've been noodling with: it's not easy for an amateur to produce this effect—so could one design a simple cybernetic exhibit to give an untrained person the experience of causing this with their voice? I have a few ideas…
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This feels like a dumb question, but: why don't we notice *destructive* interference more in vocal harmony? This figure shows constructive interference in a harmonic seventh chord—but that assumes everyone's in phase! Which… they won't be, right? Do we instinctively auto-align?
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Wouldn't it depend on where the listener is standing?
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Replying to
Yes, I guess so! So I guess in practice this must not be a big deal given real vocal timbre.