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Author: Edel Sanders,M.A.,EdM

Position: Instructor of Music and the Mind

Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from

counting without being aware that it is counting.

Gottfried Leibniz mathematician and philosopher

My doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge examines

the relationship between musical and mathematical cognition.
I explore mathematical elements, such as number, sequence
and proportion, existing within music in order to support the
hypothesis that there is a link between both domains of
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thinking. to improve
This can be observed when analyzing the physics of
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music for instance. One can also see the connection between
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music and number by looking at the history of mathematics.
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I agreeThis association in ancient India is now widely recognized by

scholars (van Nooten, 1993; du Sautoy, 2007). For example, the
use of binary numbers and a noted numerical sequence found

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Sanskrit treatise on prosody, Pingala first used it in the

analysis of musical and poetic meters in his Chandahsutra Contact
(Science of Meters) text (c. 200 BC, in Bag, 1966). Meters were
arranged in differing patterns of long and short, with the
temporal ratio of 2:1. His study of meter led him to describe
the addition rules defining rows of the triangle later known as
Pascal Triangle, widely used in the mathematical branches of
geometry, algebra and probability.

Ancient African bush tribes communicated via intricate

messages using two-toned drums (Shectman, 2003; Finnegan,
2012). They used a form of binary system that included an
error-correcting code. Retransmission messages were sent to
neighboring villages, possibly with protocol similar to what is
now used by Ethernet. This would have ensured a clear
channel for retransmission (Hellman, 2013).

Additionally, use of long-short binary patterns identifies the

temporal organization of dance music in various cultures. For
example, clave rhythmic cycles in Salsa music, which most Apply Online
likely originated in sub-Saharan Africa before moving to Cuba
and other regions, utilizes multiple variations of 2 and 1 (Hall,
2005). Argentine tango, influenced both by ancient African
rhythms and music from Europe (Davis, 1995), is another case
of mathematical patterns used within dance structure, often
revealing mathematical sequences such as the Fibonacci
sequence, explored below.

th
In 12 century India, Hemacandra also studied meter, as did
his countryman many centuries earlier. After creating a matrix
of all of the rhythmic possibilities of a binary pattern with a
ratio of 2:1[1]he discovered a sequence in which each
subsequent number - following the first two - is created by
adding the sum of the two preceding numbers (Koshy, 2001).
This series later became known as the Fibonacci sequence,
after the Italian mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci, who
introduced it to Europe in the 13th century. Educated in North
Africa, Fibonacci then travelled widely with his father for
business. After visiting India, he spoke of the advantages of
the Hindu-Arabic system of mathematics. He later introduced
this system, including the now-famous sequence, to Europe.
Thus he became prominent as a result (Brown, 2008).

This sequence is related closely with the Golden Ratio. The

Golden
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described
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reflected in the microcosmic spirals of a seashell and a
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pinecone as well as the macrocosmic spirals of a hurricane
and the solar system. It has also been considered the essence

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related Golden Ratio, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Beethoven utilized the Golden Ratio at key points in his Fifth Contact
Symphony and use of this ratio also appears in works of Bach,
Bartok, Debussy, Satie and Schubert (Knott, 2010). These
examples further demonstrate a link between mathematics
and music. Therefore, the next time you listen to your iPod,
take note that more might be going on than you think!

[1] This ratio exists in harmonic and overtone structures within

musical compositions and tones as well.

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