Imagine living in a cabin without electricity and a heating system. Not impossible, is it? Right, but for how long will you be able to live this way? One week, two weeks? Probably, no more than one month. The same goes for music.
It is hard to estimate how long we, humans, can live without music. Listening to music is in our genetic code. Wherever people come from, they have culture, tradition, history, and most importantly, folk songs they have been nurturing for centuries.
Although times have changed, one thing remains the same. We love listening to music, regardless of the genre. We often prefer music to any other activity. Take students, for instance. It is not uncommon for them to turn to companies like Getcodinghelp and write, “do my programming assignment, please,” while downloading a new album of their favorite artist and going offline to enjoy it entirely.
Music isn’t something chaotically created. Writing it is much more than just coming up with notes and putting them in order. Writing music is like solving a problem in math. Through algorithms, songwriters can touch the depths of our souls, raising our concentration and productivity.
Indeed, many will disagree with the statement, saying that creating music doesn’t require much these days. With the help of FL Studio or Ableton, one can write a song at the drop of a hat. And there is the grain of truth. Although it might be effortless, we are talking here about much more complicated aspects of music that are tightly connected with mathematics. Without further ado, let’s look closer at proofs of why music and math go hand in hand.
Music theory relies on math and its algorithms
Music is much more than just the incorporation of sounds that create a song. There is a music theory that analyzes the possibilities and practices in music. Scholars study the timing, pitch, and music structure. It all requires using numbers, so researchers use math and its formulas to study chord progression, form, tempo, and many other elements of music. Such work resulted in the appearance of various studies like set theory and number theory. It has also led to the emergence of abstract algebra.
For instance, linguists examine acoustics by using special software. The latter implements mathematical approaches to estimate the frequency, pitch, stress, and other properties of a sound.
Rhythm, time, and meter
Time, meter, and rhythm are vitally important in music, as their right proportions create music. Ignoring them would result in pointless sounds and overall cacophony. Notably, such a rhythmic structure heavily relies on math and physics, as they use precise formulas to measure the duration, pulse repetition, phrase, and accent of a sound.
What about musical form?
As apparent as architecture is to math, music is connected to both disciplines, and here is why. Musical form is the plan that extends short pieces of music and creates one coherent song. Songwriters and musicians don’t work on the melodicity of a song solely. They also consider several other aspects to make sure the melody is accurate and flawless.
For example, musical forms can be binary and ternary, determining sections and how many times they repeat. It is imperative to know mathematical knowledge to identify whether it’s better to rest upon twofold (A-A-B-B) or threefold (A-B-A) form.
Harmony and frequency
Another argument that tips the scales in favor of the connection of music with math is that music would be either monotonous and rudimentary or absent without mathematics. Those who have a knack for music, i.e., perform music or study music-related degrees, would recognize a musical scale. It is a discrete set of pitches that analyzes or describes the music. The most typical scale is diatonic. The scale includes seven notes, five whole steps, and two half-steps. By various comparisons and mathematical analyses, experts can determine the frequency of a sound and come up with an ideal instrumental.
Couple of words about tuning systems
In music, two tuning systems prevail. They are tuning systems and equal temperament. Although different in using methods to set the correct tune, they both are highly dependent on a logarithmic scale, a way of displaying numerical data over an extensive array of values.
Musical instruments require mathematical accuracy
Take whatever musical instrument, say an acoustic guitar. What do you see? A perfect and symmetric body, exquisite bridge, accurate soundhole, and beautiful neck. These parts are all precise because there was math applied when creating them. By pulling one string, there is one sound. By pulling another string, there is another sound. Why does that happen? It’s all mathematics! Take another instrument, and you will see the same mathematical impact. Violins, flutes, pianos – they were created carefully and thoughtfully, using math.
Mozart effect
Researchers proved that listening to classical music, mainly Mozart, improves people’s spatial memory. In other words, those who listened to Mozart’s symphonies, operas, or any other music types, were better at solving mathematical problems.
It’s hard to live without music, as it often soothes our anguish, makes us feel better, or helps us forget things we don’t want to remember. Music is much more than a set of frequencies and intervals. It is full-fledged mathematics, which requires musicians to be accurate and rigorous when creating music. Provided are explanations of how music is related to math. Who knows, maybe it is connected to other disciplines? Tell us what you think about it in the comment section down below.
Although times have changed, one thing remains the same. We love listening to music, regardless of the genre. We often prefer music to any other activity. Take students, for instance. It is not uncommon for them to turn to companies like Getcodinghelp and write, “do my programming assignment, please,” while downloading a new album of their favorite artist and going offline to enjoy it entirely.
Music isn’t something chaotically created. Writing it is much more than just coming up with notes and putting them in order. Writing music is like solving a problem in math. Through algorithms, songwriters can touch the depths of our souls, raising our concentration and productivity.
Indeed, many will disagree with the statement, saying that creating music doesn’t require much these days. With the help of FL Studio or Ableton, one can write a song at the drop of a hat. And there is the grain of truth. Although it might be effortless, we are talking here about much more complicated aspects of music that are tightly connected with mathematics. Without further ado, let’s look closer at proofs of why music and math go hand in hand.
Music theory relies on math and its algorithms
Music is much more than just the incorporation of sounds that create a song. There is a music theory that analyzes the possibilities and practices in music. Scholars study the timing, pitch, and music structure. It all requires using numbers, so researchers use math and its formulas to study chord progression, form, tempo, and many other elements of music. Such work resulted in the appearance of various studies like set theory and number theory. It has also led to the emergence of abstract algebra.
For instance, linguists examine acoustics by using special software. The latter implements mathematical approaches to estimate the frequency, pitch, stress, and other properties of a sound.
Rhythm, time, and meter
Time, meter, and rhythm are vitally important in music, as their right proportions create music. Ignoring them would result in pointless sounds and overall cacophony. Notably, such a rhythmic structure heavily relies on math and physics, as they use precise formulas to measure the duration, pulse repetition, phrase, and accent of a sound.
What about musical form?
As apparent as architecture is to math, music is connected to both disciplines, and here is why. Musical form is the plan that extends short pieces of music and creates one coherent song. Songwriters and musicians don’t work on the melodicity of a song solely. They also consider several other aspects to make sure the melody is accurate and flawless.
For example, musical forms can be binary and ternary, determining sections and how many times they repeat. It is imperative to know mathematical knowledge to identify whether it’s better to rest upon twofold (A-A-B-B) or threefold (A-B-A) form.
Harmony and frequency
Another argument that tips the scales in favor of the connection of music with math is that music would be either monotonous and rudimentary or absent without mathematics. Those who have a knack for music, i.e., perform music or study music-related degrees, would recognize a musical scale. It is a discrete set of pitches that analyzes or describes the music. The most typical scale is diatonic. The scale includes seven notes, five whole steps, and two half-steps. By various comparisons and mathematical analyses, experts can determine the frequency of a sound and come up with an ideal instrumental.
Couple of words about tuning systems
In music, two tuning systems prevail. They are tuning systems and equal temperament. Although different in using methods to set the correct tune, they both are highly dependent on a logarithmic scale, a way of displaying numerical data over an extensive array of values.
Musical instruments require mathematical accuracy
Take whatever musical instrument, say an acoustic guitar. What do you see? A perfect and symmetric body, exquisite bridge, accurate soundhole, and beautiful neck. These parts are all precise because there was math applied when creating them. By pulling one string, there is one sound. By pulling another string, there is another sound. Why does that happen? It’s all mathematics! Take another instrument, and you will see the same mathematical impact. Violins, flutes, pianos – they were created carefully and thoughtfully, using math.
Mozart effect
Researchers proved that listening to classical music, mainly Mozart, improves people’s spatial memory. In other words, those who listened to Mozart’s symphonies, operas, or any other music types, were better at solving mathematical problems.
It’s hard to live without music, as it often soothes our anguish, makes us feel better, or helps us forget things we don’t want to remember. Music is much more than a set of frequencies and intervals. It is full-fledged mathematics, which requires musicians to be accurate and rigorous when creating music. Provided are explanations of how music is related to math. Who knows, maybe it is connected to other disciplines? Tell us what you think about it in the comment section down below.
