Math Holiday

Homework

Mathematics and Music

Aryan Prem Nair – 11B

No. Contents
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Patterns
4. Frequency and
Harmony
5. Fibonacci
sequence
6. Golden ratio
7. Music helps study
and think
8. Conclusion
 “There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the
spheres.” - Pythagoras

Introduction
Math and music are two entirely different fields of study, but
there is a strong correlation between them. At some point,
they tend to overlap, and it is common for people good at
math to be good at music. It may seem illogical to compare the
two, but there are more similarities between math and music
than you would imagine and you can use numbers and
mathematical principles to teach or learn music.

Numbers can tell us more about Music. Music is divided into

sections that are called measures, where each measure has
equal amounts of beats.

Each piece of music has a time signature which gives its

rhythmic information, like how many beats there are in each
measure. All the music notes have numerical connections and
a number of beats. As a musician, it is important that you
understand the value of fractions and notes to count the
music correctly.

The attempt to structure and communicate new ways of

composing and hearing music has led to musical applications
of set theory, abstract algebra and number theory.

Whether it is classical, jazz, rock, hip hop, or any other type of

music, you can find math’s influence and impact.
History
Though ancient Chinese, Indians, Egyptians and
Mesopotamians are known to have studied the mathematical
principles of sound, the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece were
the first researchers known to have investigated the
expression of musical scales in terms of numerical ratios.

The Greek Philosopher Pythagoras was one of the first

historical figures to emphasize the relationship between
mathematics and music. Though his life and work are
shrouded in mystery, Pythagoras lived during the 6th century
BCE and is considered to be the “father” of philosophy and
mathematics.

Numbers were of incredible importance to Pythagoras and his

followers. Their contribution to the science of mathematics is
most visible in the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to
deduce the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle by
adding the square of its other two sides.

Pythagoras made other contributions to mathematics as well,

but his theories of music are what interest us here. Perhaps
his most important contribution to our understanding of
music were his discoveries in the realm of harmonics.
Pythagoras realized that intervals of music could be
expressed as numeric ratios.

This discovery, along with many other accurate and

inaccurate propositions, made Pythagoras one of the fathers
of music theory. Building upon his work, succeeding
generations of thinkers and musicians formulated the
concepts that eventually became our modern understanding
of music and music theory.

Patterns
The biggest similarity between math and music is patterns.
For example, music has repeating verses and choruses while
math uses patterns to explain the unknown.

You can use different mathematical phenomena in music.

These include geometry, signal processing, differential
calculus, and even trigonometry. In fact, research has shown
that when music shows some mathematical structure, it tends
to be more popular.

Frequency and harmony

The famed Pythagoras found out that different weights and
vibrations make different sounds. Based on this discovery, we
now know that the pitch of a vibrating string is directly
proportional to its length. The pitch can also be controlled by
its length.
If you cut the string in half, the pitch will be one octave higher
than the original. This means that the pitch will get higher as
the string gets shorter.

Succeeding superoctaves are pitches found at frequencies

four, eight, sixteen times, and so on, of the fundamental
frequency. Pitches at frequencies of half, a quarter, an eighth
and so on of the fundamental are called suboctaves.

Mathematics also plays a pivotal role in

musical harmony. Essentially, harmony is the
combination of musical sounds as perceived
by the ear and is analyzed in terms of math
based concepts such as frequency, pitch, and
chord progression. Mathematics is also deeply
interwoven with the western notion of
musical scale. Take the ‘diatonic scale,' for
example. The diatonic scale is the most
commonly used scale in Western music and is
most easily expressed as a series of numeric
ratios.
Fibonacci series
There is a mathematical formula used to determine the next
note of a musical composition, known as the Fibonacci
sequence, which is known as the golden ratio. This sequence
was first introduced by Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, a
mathematician who popularized the Hindu-Arabic number
system in the West. Musicians use the Fibonacci numbers to
find climaxes and major or minor key
changes in a song, as well as to select important musical
measures.

The Fibonacci sequence has been used to create pleasing

musical patterns for centuries, and even in some rock and
classical music. A number of popular artists have used this
sequence in their work, including Genesis and Deep Purple. It
has also been used to design the acoustic design of some
cathedrals. Its use in music goes beyond the mathematical
realm, however. Here are some examples:

A common example of how musicians apply the Fibonacci

sequence to music is the use of musical scales. The Fibonacci
sequence is the mathematical basis of the octave, a scale of
eight notes. The scale’s root note is the number one. The
octave is 8 notes long, and the 5th note is three. The fifth and
third notes are Fibonacci numbers, which make up the basic
chords of the music.

Bela Bartok’s “Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta” is a

prime example. Bartok was an expert in math and physics,
and studied plants and their fibonacci numbers in order to
create beautiful music. He also remained tight-lipped about
his compositional methods, leaving no written evidence to
prove he used the Fibonacci numbers in his work.

The Fibonacci sequence is a basic building block of the Golden

Section, a musical structure that is commonly used for
rhythmic changes. The Fibonacci sequence also serves as a
basis for the Golden Mean. This mathematical formula was
used by the legendary composer Bela Bartok to structure his
“Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta.

Fibonacci sequence in music

• An octave on the piano consists of 13 notes. Eight are

white keys and five are black keys.
• A scale is composed of eight notes, of which the third and
fifth notes create the foundation of a basic chord
• In a scale, the dominant note is the fifth note, which is
also the eighth note of all 13 notes that make up the
octave.
• Eight divided by 13 equals 0.61538... the approximate
Golden Ratio

These are all numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence: 3, 5, 8, 13.

Golden Ratio

It’s not difficult to imagine the golden ratio in music. Its

properties, including the golden ratio, are widely used in
visual art. You can hear it in architecture, flowers, and even
nautilus shells. The human ear works in strange ways and
doesn’t always recognize the equivalent visual forms. In
addition, the golden ratio itself is incommensurable with all
other musical intervals. But it does exist in music.

Some composers use this mathematical pattern to create

musical compositions. Handel’s Messiah, for instance,
contains 94 measures. Despite the fact that the music is so
long, the theme of the piece is entered after the eight-eighth
measure of the first 57 measures. The same holds true of the
second 57 measures. As a result, it seems fitting that the
climax of the song occurs around phi point.

The golden ratio was used by several composers of the

twentieth century. The work of Debussy and Stockhausen, and
the music of Stravinsky and Manzoni, among others,
exemplifies the use of the golden ratio in music. These works
were developed and refined by a research group at the
Institut de France, the Centre d’Etudes de Mathematique et
Automatique Musicales.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony contains numerous examples of

golden ratio in music. It begins with a famous motto theme.
Approximately 600 bars before the first statement of the
opening motto, this is the equivalent of the Golden Ratio. Then
there are three main motto statements in the second
movement, and the third is an extension of the previous one.
This golden ratio structure of the piece entails a sense of
gathering strength from each individual section.

A great number of classical and modern composers have

explored the Golden Ratio in music. Many of them used the
golden ratio in music to make musical themes more striking.
The Fibonacci Sequence, for example, was derived from the
golden ratio. The same principles apply in rock music. Deep
Purple’s Firth of Fifth piece contains solos based on the
golden ratio. In addition, Tool’s Lateralus piece is based on the
Fibonacci sequence.
Music helps us study and think
There is a strong correlation between music and the way we
study. Research shows that when children are given proper
instructions on musical instruments, they score high on tasks
that require spatial-temporal cognition, math, and hand-eye
coordination. This can be attributed to the relation between
music and math skills.

A musician has to continually subdivide the beats to be able to

interpret the rhythmic notations. In fact, practicing music ,
paying attention to details, and the discipline required to
learn music can prove to be a strong base for building math
skills.

Moreover, research has also shown that children who learn

through music retain information better than those who learn
just by verbal instructions. Kids can remember concepts or
facts better when it is put in a song or rhythm. Any kind of
musical element can help you recall important details.
Even playing music while working or studying can create a
focused learning state. Classical music such as Carnatic music
has the ability to create an atmosphere of focus and
concentration.

Conclusion
The descriptions of the relationships between math and music
theory could continue almost indefinitely. We’ve only
scratched the surface of an incredibly vast and intricate
subject, but we can perhaps already see how deeply
interrelated the two disciplines are. And even though music
theory is the analysis of music, there has been a fertile back
and forth between theory and composition that has enriched
our musical canon greatly and would not have
been possible without the application of mathematical
concepts.
Bibliography
https://blog.discmakers.com/2020/07/the-functional-
relationship-between-math-and-music/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_mathematics#Con
nections_to_mathematics

https://www.mathtutordvd.com/public/Mathematics-and-
Music.cfm

https://www.icsv26.org/

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/fibonacci-
sequence-in-music/