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The first scientific experiment in history* was on the topic of harmony/tuning. It was conducted by Pythagoreans who forged bronze chimes in different ratios of
by dr_dshiv 6y ago
The first scientific experiment in history* was on the topic of harmony/tuning. It was conducted by Pythagoreans who forged bronze chimes in different ratios of thickness, in order to demonstrate the generalization of Pythagorean number theory.
Yet, modern science still can't measure the harmoniousness of a song at a given point or overall -- we have neither the theory nor the math to do so. It is an active area of scientific research! I find that so cool.
* hypothesis-driven empirical test of a mathematical model
- swirepe 6y ago>Yet, modern science still can't measure the harmoniousness of a song at a given point or overall -- we have neither the theory nor the math to do so. It is an active area of scientific research! I find that so cool. What about consonance and dissonance? We have both the math and the music theory for those. Wouldn't that be a measure of harmoniousness?
- dr_dshiv 6y agoIt's complicated. We can calculate the dissonance (e.g., harmonic entropy) for specific note combinations, but even the best models of consonance and dissonance don't correspond perfectly with human ratings -- nor can be applied to complex sounds. There isn't a meter capable of showing how consonant or dissonant a song is, at any point in time -- or for the song as a whole.