That Pesky Number 7
In reality then, we have trouble differentiating uni-dimensional stimuli such as audible tones played without reference to each other, but we can differentiate more than seven tones when played in a sequence, or separately when multiple dimensions such as loudness and pitch are varied. Further, we are able to remember more then seven things within a list especially if those things are related or can be judged relatively, or occur as part of a sequence.