Music And Mathematics

A guided tour of the mathematical principles inherent in music. Taking a "music first" approach, Gareth E. Roberts's From Music to Mathematics will inspire students to learn important, interesting, and at times advanced mathematics. Ranging from a discussion of the geometric sequences and series found in the rhythmic structure of music to the phase-shifting techniques of composer Steve Reich, the musical concepts and examples in the book motivate a deeper study of mathematics. Comprehensive and clearly written, From Music to Mathematics is designed to appeal to readers without specialized knowledge of mathematics or music. Students are taught the relevant concepts from music theory (notation, scales, intervals, the circle of fifths, tonality, etc.), with the pertinent mathematics developed alongside the related musical topic. The mathematics advances in level of difficulty from calculating with fractions, to manipulating trigonometric formulas, to constructing group multiplication tables and proving a number is irrational. Topics discussed in the book include • Rhythm • Introductory music theory • The science of sound • Tuning and temperament • Symmetry in music • The Bartók controversy • Change ringing • Twelve-tone music • Mathematical modern music • The Hemachandra–Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio • Magic squares • Phase shifting Featuring numerous musical excerpts, including several from jazz and popular music, each topic is presented in a clear and in-depth fashion. Sample problems are included as part of the exposition, with carefully written solutions provided to assist the reader. The book also contains more than 200 exercises designed to help develop students' analytical skills and reinforce the material in the text. From the first chapter through the last, readers eager to learn more about the connections between mathematics and music will find a comprehensive textbook designed to satisfy their natural curiosity.

Many people intuitively sense that there is a connection between mathematics and music. If nothing else, both involve counting. There is, of course, much more to the association. David Wright's book is an investigation of the interrelationships between mathematics and music, reviewing the needed background concepts in each subject as they are encountered. Along the way, readers will augment their understanding of both mathematics and music. The text explores the common foundations of the two subjects, which are developed side by side. Musical and mathematical notions are brought together, such as scales and modular arithmetic, intervals and logarithms, tone and trigonometry, and timbre and harmonic analysis. When possible, discussions of musical and mathematical notions are directly interwoven. Occasionally the discourse dwells for a while on one subject and not the other, but eventually the connection is established, making this an integrative treatment of the two subjects. The book is a text for a freshman level college course suitable for musically inclined or mathematically inclined students, with the intent of breaking down any apprehension that either group might have for the other subject. Exercises are given at the end of each chapter. The mathematical prerequisites are a high-school level familiarity with algebra, trigonometry, functions, and graphs. Musically, the student should have had some exposure to musical staffs, standard clefs, and key signatures, though all of these are explained in the text.

From ancient Greek times, music has been seen as a mathematical art, and the relationship between mathematics and music has fascinated generations. This work links these two subjects in a manner that is suitable for students of both subjects, as well as the general reader with an interest in music.

In Western Civilization Mathematics and Music have a long and interesting history in common, with several interactions, traditionally associated with the name of Pythagoras but also with a significant number of other mathematicians, like Leibniz, for instance. Mathematical models can be found for almost all levels of musical activities from composition to sound production by traditional instruments or by digital means. Modern music theory has been incorporating more and more mathematical content during the last decades. This book offers a journey into recent work relating music and mathematics. It contains a large variety of articles, covering the historical aspects, the influence of logic and mathematical thought in composition, perception and understanding of music and the computational aspects of musical sound processing. The authors illustrate the rich and deep interactions that exist between Mathematics and Music.

At first glance, mathematics and music seem to be from separate worlds—one from science, one from art. But in fact, the connections between the two go back thousands of years, such as Pythagoras’s ideas about how to quantify changes of pitch for musical tones (musical intervals). Mathematics and Music: Composition, Perception, and Performance explores the many links between mathematics and different genres of music, deepening students’ understanding of music through mathematics. In an accessible way, the text teaches the basics of reading music and explains how various patterns in music can be described with mathematics. The authors extensively use the powerful time-frequency method of spectrograms to analyze the sounds created in musical performance. Numerous examples of music notation assist students in understanding basic musical scores. The text also provides mathematical explanations for musical scales, harmony, and rhythm and includes a concise introduction to digital audio synthesis. Along with helping students master some fundamental mathematics, this book gives them a deeper appreciation of music by showing how music is informed by both its mathematical and aesthetic structures. Web Resource On the book’s CRC Press web page, students can access videos of many of the spectrograms discussed in the text as well as musical scores playable with the free music software MuseScore. An online bibliography offers many links to free downloadable articles on math and music. The web page also provides links to other websites related to math and music, including all the sites mentioned in the book.

This book offers a lively exploration of the mathematics, physics, and neuroscience that underlie music. Written for musicians and music lovers with any level of science and math proficiency, including none, Music, Math, and Mind demystifies how music works while testifying to its beauty and wonder.

Professor Michael Edgeworth McIntyre is an eminent scientist who has also had a part-time career as a musician. In this book he offers an extraordinary synthesis, revealing the many deep connections between science, music, and mathematics. He avoids equations and technical jargon. The connections are deep in the sense of being embedded in our very nature, rooted in biological evolution over hundreds of millions of years.Michael guides us through biological evolution, perception psychology, and even unconscious science and mathematics, all the way to the scientific uncertainties about the climate crisis.He also has a message of hope for the future. Contrary to popular belief, he holds that biological evolution has given us not only the nastiest, but also the most compassionate and cooperative parts of human nature. This insight comes from recognizing that biological evolution is far more than a simple competition between selfish genes. Instead, he argues, in some ways it is more like the turbulent, eddying flow in a river or in an atmospheric jet stream, a complex process spanning a vast range of timescales.Professor McIntyre is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) and has long been interested in how different branches of science can better communicate with each other, and with the public. His work harnesses aspects of neuroscience and psychology that point toward the deep 'lucidity principles' that underlie skilful communication, principles related to the way music works — music of any genre.This Second Edition sharpens the previous discussion of communication skills and their importance for today's great problems, ranging from the widely discussed climate crisis to the need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence.

This book explores the interaction between music and mathematics including harmony, symmetry, digital music and perception of sound.