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Math and music are similar in so many aspects. Are the people good at one also good at other? I mean, do mathematicians understand musical theory better than th

• Rochus 5y ago
  > Are the people good at one also good at other? do mathematicians understand musical theory better than those that have no background in math Music and music theory are two different things. A person who is an expert in music theory is not necessarily a good musician and vice versa. There are approaches to music theory based on mathematics (see book list below); here at the latest, your assumption is likely to be correct, but hardly in general. Book list: Mathematics and Music - Composition, Perception, and Performance Musimathics Volume 1 and 2 Music and Mathematics - From Pythagoras to Fractals Mathematical and Computational Modeling of Tonality - Theory and Applications
  • rotten 5y ago
    There is also "The Geometry of Musical Rhythm"
  • taubek 5y ago
    Yeah, I meant music theory. Playing a music instrument is a skill that can be learned (if you have what it takes :) ).
    • watwut 5y ago
      Music theory can be learned too. I mean, there is not other way how to get it then by learning.
      • Rochus 5y ago
        > Music theory can be learned too Sure, but it's an add on. Music theory is developed after the fact by analyzing music created by people who (mostly) didn't know the theory. It's a (more or less useful) means to understand what the original creator did.
        • nescioquid 5y ago
          For Western classical music, this is often claimed and is probably only a little true these days (e.g. Schenker is truly post facto, though illuminating). However, the theory really was deeply tied to the practice of composition and performance. One of the first exercises Mozart set his composition students was to write out various cadences. Likewise, Bach started his pupils with voice-leading. Theory was also needed for various forms of performance -- look at any manual on continuo playing (this is where the figures on roman numeral notation come from). Handel wrote a manual on continuo playing in which he touches on how to improvise a fugue!
• schwartzworld 5y ago
  I don't know about mathematicians, but there's definitely an overlap with programmers and musicians.
• scottious 5y ago
  I don't really think so. The stuff that's covered in the first half of this article is certainly very math-y, but you can be a great musician and not know this stuff. I really think all you need to know is basic arithmetic and the absolute basics of modular arithmetic (akin to learning how 12 o'clock + 1 hour = 1 o'clock, not 13 o'clock). Becoming a great musician is more about developing your ear, technique, repertoire, etc. It's more similar to learning a foreign language than learning math, in my opinion.
• karmakaze 5y ago
  I've read that Einstein often improvised on violin. Here's a search result[0]. > Einstein's violin playing took a gypsy turn when he improvised, often while thinking about mathematics. He was a very good musician. He could navigate the piano well enough. But his real love was for the violin. Even so, Einstein's violin playing was not of the first rank. Yet such was his love for the violin that he played and practiced anyway. Such is the spell that musical instruments cast on people's minds. > In addition to studying the classic violin pieces of Bach and Mozart that he adored, Einstein was also given to improvisations. Some have told of the haunting, gypsy-like quality of these rhapsodies. Einstein himself stated that many of his greatest mathematical ideas came when he was improvising on the violin. [0] https://pianobynumber.com/blogs/readingroom/einsteins-violin-improvisations-in-gypsy-style https://pianobynumber.com/blogs/readingroom/einsteins-violin...
  • Rochus 5y ago
    > Einstein often improvised on violin Improvisation has little to do with music theory; most Folk and Jazz music is improvised; even what we know today as "classical music" was often improvised in the past; many great composers were also great improvisers.
    • watwut 5y ago
      Wut? Jazz is heavy on theory from the start precisely to facilitate the improvisation. You need theory to improvise, basically. You do not need theory to perform existing pieces all that much. Which is why you can learn to play classical music while ignoring theory.
      • sornaensis 5y ago
        Jazz theory came decades after jazz.
        • lewispollard 5y ago
          Yes, to describe and group together the specific music theory elements that jazz musicians tended to use: sevenths, avoiding triads, modulation, etc. Not because there was no theory intentionally used in jazz music. If you think those guys didn't know what they were doing...
• lelandfe 5y ago
  My family is full of music theorists, including a professor of it. I’ve asked this before, and they’re of the thinking that no, one’s aptitude at music theory is not related to a knowledge of mathematics. The professor in my family has in particular seen no relationship between the two in their decades of teaching. But - importantly - a background of math can be a tremendous asset later in one’s career as a music theorist. It can help provide a unique way of looking at and improving on theory.
• gjulianm 5y ago
  I have a degree in mathematics and have studied music for some years. My personal opinion is that they're quite different things. Yes, the underlying theory of music requires some mathematics, but that's it. Once you get into it there's much more "feeling" and "intuition" and "subjectiveness" than math could ever accept.
  • env123 5y ago
    ^ This. Maths ignore the stuff you mentioned above just to get by The same can be said about science ignoring philosophy, morality and spirituality just to get by