MATHEMATICS IN MUSIC

Musical pieces are read much like you would read math symbols. The symbols represent some bit of
information about the piece. Musical pieces are divided into sections called measures or bars. Each
measure embodies an equal amount of time. Furthermore, each measure is divided into equal portions
called beats. These are all mathematical divisions of time.

Fractions are used in music to indicate lengths of notes. In a musical piece, the time signature tells the
musician information about the rhythm of the piece. A time signature is generally written as two
integers, one above the other. The number on the bottom tells the musician which note in the piece
gets a single beat (count). The top number tells the musician how many of this note is in each measure.
Numbers can tell us a lot about musical pieces.

The Fibonacci sequence is a famous and well-known sequence that follows as: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34,
55, 89, … and so on, adding each term to the one before it to create the next term. That is, 5 + 8 = 13, 8
+ 13 = 21, 13 + 21 = 34, and continuing infinitely. In music, the Fibonacci sequence can be seen in piano
scales. For example, the C scale on the piano consists of 13 keys from C to C; eight white keys and five
black keys, with black keys arranged in groups of three and two.