How Music and Mathematics Relate

Overview

Course No. 1373

Gain a new perspective on two of the greatest achievements of human culture—music and math—and the unexpected and fascinating connections that bind the two together. This course explores the relationship between musical compositions and mathematical principles, revealing how both disciplines share patterns, structures, and relationships that resonate deeply within human experience.

Video Lectures

1. Overtones – Symphony in a Single Note
   • Analyze the harmonic series and the physics of stringed and wind instruments.
   • Duration: 50 min

2. Timbre – Why Each Instrument Sounds Different
   • Investigate timbre and its impact on the sound of different instruments.
   • Duration: 46 min

3. Pitch and Auditory Illusions
   • Explore how the brain perceives sound, including auditory illusions.
   • Duration: 48 min

4. How Scales Are Constructed
   • Study the construction and differences between musical scales.
   • Duration: 48 min

5. How Scale Tunings and Composition Coevolved
   • Examine the historical context of scale tunings and their effects on composition.
   • Duration: 46 min

6. Dissonance and Piano Tuning
   • Understand the concept of dissonance and how it relates to piano tuning.
   • Duration: 50 min

7. Rhythm – From Numbers to Patterns
   • Learn about rhythmic structures and time signatures in music.
   • Duration: 45 min

8. Transformations and Symmetry
   • Explore musical transformations resembling mathematical group theory.
   • Duration: 50 min

9. Self-Reference from Bach to Gödel
   • Discover self-referential concepts in music and mathematics.
   • Duration: 43 min

10. Composing with Math – Classical to Avant-Garde
    • Investigate how composers use mathematics in their work.
    • Duration: 45 min

11. The Digital Delivery of Music
    • Analyze the technology behind digital music delivery systems.
    • Duration: 46 min

12. Math, Music, and the Mind
    • Conclude with the connections between music, mathematics, and cognitive processes.
    • Duration: 48 min