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Presented by:
Chandan Prasad Gupta
080103, B.Sc., CME
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• Mathematics and music have a strange
connection.
• Music is the only art form, where the
form and the medium are the same.
• Mathematics is the only science where
the methods and the subject are the
same. Mathematics is the study of
mathematics using mathematics. Music
is only created and experienced as
music.
• Thus, there is a natural connection
between mathematics and music: Both
are experienced as pure objects of the
brain, and both have meaning outside of
the brain only by artificial connections
Time, rhythm and metre:

• In Old English the word "rhyme",

derived from "rhythm", became
associated and confused with 

     

 





 

   

 


  





 












  
 




  
 
 



   



 

 



  




frequency and harmony:
• When you pluck a string on
a guitar, it vibrates back and
forth. This causes
mechanical energy to travel
through the air, in waves.
The number of times per
second these waves hit our
ear is called the ͚frequency'.
This is measured in Hertz
(abbreviated Hz). The more
waves per second the
higher the pitch
Scale and Octaves:
• There are two constant values in music.
The first is that the A note that is 9
white keys below middle C has a
frequency of 440 hz. The second
constant value in music is the 12th root
of 2 (1.0594630943593...) which is the
ratio of the frequencies between half
tones. So, the frequency of A# is 440 ×
1.059... = 466.16376... The frequency of
B is 466.1637 × 1.0594 = 493.8833.
After you do this 12 times you end up
with A an octave higher which equals
880hz. Doubling the frequency creates
a note an octave higher. Reversely,
dividing the frequency in half creates a
note an octave lower
Harmonics
• In Physics, harmonics are waves
at proportional frequencies, and
at inversely proportional
amplitudes. If we play an "A"
(440hz) with full harmonics we
will not only hear the 440hz tone,
but also an 880hz tone at half the
volume (first harmonic), a 1320hz
tone at a third the volume
(second harmonic), a 1760hz tone
at a quarter of the volume (third
harmonic), etc., until the
frequencies get too high or the
volume gets too low to be heard.
Harmonics contd..
• Why does a flute and a violin
sound different when they play
the same note? The answer is
harmonics. Harmonics is also
why scales have different feels
to them. Most of what follows
was discovered by German
scientist Hermann Helmholtz in
the 19th century, but
surprisingly many musicians are
unaware of this hidden
connection between math and
music.
• When you play a note on a
flute, you are only producing
that particular tone. When you
play a note on a violin, you are
not only producing that tone,
but numerous harmonic tones
as well.
Harmonics contd͙
• We will play "A" at 110hz.
• The first harmonic is another "A"
an octave up at 220hz.
• The second harmonic is at 330hz
which corresponds to a "E" on the
second octave.
• The third harmonic is also "A"
two octaves up at 440hz.
• The fourth harmonic is 550hz
which is a "C#" on the third
octave, and the fifth harmonic is
another "E" on the same octave.
Mathemusic
Perfect Harmonics
@

 
• One bit of evidence of underlying
rational numbers was in Greek music.
At the time, music was not as
complicated as it is today.
• The Greek octave had a mere five
notes.
• Pythagoras pointed out that each note
was a fraction of a string.
• Lets say you had a string that played
an A. >The next note is 4/5 the length
(or 5/4 the frequency) which is
approximately a C.
>The rest of the octave has the
fractions 3/4 (approximately D),
> 2/3 (approximately E), and
> 3/5 (approximately F), before you run
into 1/2 which is the octave A.
So, how did we get the 12 notes scale out of these six notes?
• Basically, some unknown follower of
Pythagoras tried applying these ratios
to the other notes on the scale.
• For example, B is the result of the 2/3
ratio note (E) applied to itself. 2/3 *
2/3 = 4/9 which lies between octave
A (1/2) and octave C (4/10).
• To put B in the same octave we
multiply 4/9 by two to arrive at 8/9.
G is produced backward from A. As B
is a full tone above A at a string ratio
of 8/9, we can create a missing tone
below A by lengthening the string to
a ratio of 9/8.
• To add G to the same octave we
apply 9/8 to 1/2 (octave A) and by
multiplication we get 9/16 as the
ratio to G.
connections to set theory
• Musical set theory uses some of
the concepts from mathematical
set theory to organize musical
objects and describe their
relationships.
• To analyze the structure of a
piece of (typically atonal) music
using musical set theory, one
usually starts with a set of tones,
which could form motives or
chords. By applying simple
operations such as transposition
and inversion, one can discover
deep structures in the music.
connections to abstract algebra

• Expanding on the methods of

musical set theory, many
theorists have used abstract
algebra to analyze music. For
example, the notes in an equal
temperament octave form an
abelian group with 12 elements.
It is possible to describe just
intonation in terms of a free
abelian group.
Fibonacci chords

• It is believed that some

composers wrote their music
using the golden ratio and the
Fibonacci numbers to assist them.
However, regarding the listener,
the degree to which the
application of the golden ratio in
music is salient, whether
consciously or unconsciously, as
well as the overall musical effect
of its implementation, if any, is
unknown.
Music, math & mind
• Math and music have always
been considered closely
connected in many ways. It is
widely believed that students
who do well in music also excel in
math.
• Some research shows that
starting music lessons at a young
age enhances math ability . One
theory is that music strengthens
the neural chords that transmit
information between the two
hemispheres of the brains.
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Any Questions?
 Learn math, learn music
Do mathemusic
They have started, when will you?
Thank you!