MATH AND MUSIC

Group 11
“There is geometry in the humming of the
strings, there is music in the spacing of the
spheres.”

-Pythagoras
Historical Connections

Connections between the two disciplines have

been studied since ancient times.
• Pythagoras (580 BC)
• Plato (424 – 347 BC) elaborated on
“music of the spheres”
• Archytas (estimated 430-350) - On Music
• Nicomachus (100 AD) - Introduction to Music
• Ptolemy (100-165 AD) - Harmonics
Historical Connections

• Boethius (500 AD) - Principles of Music

• Kepler (1571 – 1630 AD) refined
“music of the spheres”
• Galileo (1600) - “Some combinations of tones are more pleasing
than others”
• Euler (1707 - 1785) - A New Theory of Music
• Bernoulli (1700 – 1782) extended Euler’s work
 Notes and
Fractions

Photo Source:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/95/4e/0f/954e0f8d04cf11b7dc
34b445329c08f9.jpg
Measures or Bars

● Divides musical pieces into equal measures and portions

● It is the mathematical division of time
● The double barlines at the end has numerous functions such as it indicates a key
change, the chorus/bridge is coming up, etc.

Photo Source: http://www.clipartkid.com/images/609/bar-music-notation-http-www-wpclipart-com-music-notation-musical-

ImADvE-clipart.png
Time Signature

● The Time Signature is the fraction in music which tells us how many beats per
measure and it gives an idea of the rhythm
● Common musical fractions: 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4

Photo Source:
https://chordprogressionblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/meter.gif?w=616
Time Signature

How many beats

per measure

Indicates which
notes receives a
single beat

Photo Source:
http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/music/music1.html
Notes

● Notes are categorized in terms of

the number of beats that they carry.
● They have different shapes which
denotes the length or time of their
beats.
● It indicates the length or how long a
note lasts.

Photo source:
http://musictheoryisyourfriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/note-
durations.png
Melodies and
Patterns
Melodies and Rhythm

● groups of notes arranged to make up a tune

● music is made from the notes in a musical scale

● rhythm describes the repeating pattern of strong and weak beats in any piece of music
● rhythm helps you tell different kinds of music apart
● For example, music that people march to often has 4 beats per measure, with a strong
first and third beat
Scales

“A scale is a group of pitches (scale degrees) arranged in ascending

order.”
https://method-behind-the-music.com/theory/scalesandkeys/

On a full scale piano, there is a total of 88 keys, but there are only twelve different notes
which are repeated from low to high tones, from the base to the treble.

Source: https://www.pianoscales.org/theory.html
Key Signatures

The arrangement of sharps and flats at the beginning of a piece of

music
https://method-behind-the-music.com/theory/scalesandkeys/
Key Signatures

“Since some notes will always be sharp once transposed or in certain scales, it is
sometimes helpful to place accidentals at the very beginning of a piece in order to modify
all the notes of a certain pitch. Placing accidentals at the beginning of the music (as
opposed to right beside a note) allows the accidentals to affect every note in the entire
piece. So, placing a sharp on line F makes every F sharp.”
APPLICATION
Fibonacci Sequence

● The Fibonacci is evident in piano scales.

● Example: A piano’s C scale
○ Contains 13 keys (from C to C)
○ Eight white keys
○ Five black keys
○ Black keys are grouped by twos and threes alternately

Photo Source:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VP-HQQNEwAk/RggcCezAxJI/AAAAAAAAAD8/5Gmi_ksNLy0/s320/keyboard.bmp
Pythagoras and Frequency

● Pythagoras: Discovered that sounds can be produced with different weights and
vibrations.
● This brought Pythagoras to his finding that the length of the string, if manipulated or
controlled, can affect a vibrating one.
○ Example: a string that has been cut into half is an octave higher compared to when it was whole.
○ Short String = Higher Pitch

● A note sounds better when it is played simultaneously in different frequencies.

○ Example: a C note with 220Hz sounds better with notes with 440Hz, 660Hz, etc.
Connection of Math and Music

● Pattern is the main bridge between music and math.

○ Music: Consists of choruses or bars with recurring patterns
○ Math: find patterns which are used to explain and predict the unknown

● Musicians use a similar strategy with mathematicians when they are going to
compose or decipher a musical piece.
Pitch: Wave Frequencies

•Music is a form of sound

•Sound progresses as a wave through the air
•A sound wave creates minute pockets of higher and lower air pressure, and all the sounds
we hear are caused by these pressure changes. With music, the frequency at which these
pockets strike your ear controls the pitch that you hear.

https://plus.maths.org/content/magical-mathematics-music
Pitch: Wave Frequencies

•262 Hertz
•1 air pocket for every 0.00382 seconds
Pitch: Wave Frequencies

•392 Hertz
•1/0.00255 seconds
Pitch: Wave Frequencies

•1/0.00191 seconds
•Precisely half the frequency of Middle C
Pitch: Wave Frequencies
Pitch: Wave Frequencies
The Sound Wave

- SINE WAVE
Sound Waves
Euclidean Transformation in MUSIC

Reflection
Euclidean Transformation in MUSIC

Rotation
Euclidean Transformation in MUSIC

Translation
MATH AND MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
Rehearsal Rooms

“Sound pressure level was assessed by an engineer during a band rehearsal. The
measurements were taken by means of a sound pressure level measuring device - QUEST
2700, using the fast response mode (f), and the dB scale (A), filtering method, which
come close to the reception characteristics of the human ear...
...The rehearsal room with reverberating characteristics was divided in 18 points of
measurement located in:
P1 (conductor),
P2 (feedback+clarinets),
P3 (feedback+trumpets),
P4 (trombones), P5 (trombones),
P6 (trombones+trumpets),
P7 (trumpets), P8 (trumpets),
P9 (saxophones),
P10 (clarinets+flute),
P11 (vocals),
P12 (vocals+feedback), P13 (vocals+feedback),
P14 (drums),
P15 (percussion+keyboards+feedback),
P16 (guitar+feedback),
P17 (bass+feedback),
P18 (sound mixer).”
Percussion Instruments
Rythm and Math
Wind Instruments
Sources

1. http://www.ams.org/samplings/math-and-music
2. http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/music/music1.html
3. https://www.thoughtco.com/double-barline-2701575
4. https://plus.maths.org/content/magical-mathematics-music
5. https://method-behind-the-music.com/theory/scalesandkeys/