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Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg

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How music has influenced mathematics, physics, and astronomy from ancient Greece to the twentieth century

Music is filled with mathematical elements. The works of Bach are often said to possess a math-like logic, and Arnold Schoenberg, Iannis Xenakis, and Karlheinz Stockhausen wrote music explicitly based on mathematical principles. Yet Eli Maor argues that it is music that has had the greater influence on mathematics, not the other way around. Starting with Pythagoras, proceeding through Schoenberg, and bringing the story up to the present with contemporary string theory, Music by the Numbers tells a fascinating story of composers, scientists, inventors, and eccentrics who have played a role in the age-old relationship between music, mathematics, and the physical sciences. Weaving compelling stories of historical episodes with Maor's personal reflections as a mathematician and lover of classical music, this book will delight anyone who loves math and music.

ISBN-13: 9780691202969

Media Type: Paperback(Reprint)

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publication Date: 03-10-2020

Pages: 176

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

Eli Maor is a former professor of the history of mathematics at Loyola University Chicago. His books include the internationally acclaimed To Infinity and Beyond, e: The Story of a Number, Trigonometric Delights, and The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History (all Princeton).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A fascinating investigation of the relationship between math and music—what they have in common, how they differ, and how each has informed the other. A delightful examination of how math and culture interact."—Ian Stewart, author of Significant Figures

"Writing beautifully as he explores the relationship between mathematics and classical music, Eli Maor makes mathematics sing like a violin."—Jerry King, author of The Art of Mathematics

"I loved this book. I couldn't put down Maor's interesting fusion of music theory, mathematics, history, physics, and personal narrative. No other book blends these elements in such an appealing way."—Robert Schneider, musician and mathematician

"Music by the Numbers offers a great many original revelations about the connections between mathematics and music."—Joseph Mazur, author of Fluke: The Math and Myth of Coincidence

"Eli Maor is always a good storyteller and Music by the Numbers should interest mathematicians who enjoy classical music as well as musicians who are curious about the mathematics behind music."—Robert W. Langer, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Prologue: A World in Crisis 1

2 String Theory, 500 BCE 13

Sidebar A. It's All about Nomenclature 22

3 Enlightenment 24

4 The Great String Debate, 1730-1780 38

Sidebar B. The Slinky 52

5 A Most Precious Gift 55

6 Musical Temperament 70

Sidebar C. Music for the Record Books: The Lowest, the Longest, the Oldest, and the Weirdest 78

7 Musical Gadgets: The Tuning Fork and the Metronome 82

8 Rhythm, Meter, and Metric 91

9 Frames of Reference: Where Am I? 99

Sidebar D. Musical Hierarchies 116

10 Relativistic Music 120

11 Aftermath 130

Sidebar E. The Bernoulli 138

12 The Last Pythagoreans 142

Bibliography 147

Illustration Credits 149

Index 151