Fw: Math and Music

[Mike Spalding]

List,

My daughter invited me to hear this presentation at her college (U of Wis @
Stevens Point).  Anyone familiar with David Kung?  Don't know whether this a
special trip, or maybe he's on a national tour?  Haven't decided whether I
want to drive several hours each way to hear this, but if I do, I'll let you
know what he says.  Temperament from the string player's point of view has
been a topic of interest here, yes?

Mike Spalding RPT


> > How Math Made Modern Music Mad Irrational
> > Guest Speaker: David Kung
> > St. Mary> '> s College of Maryland
> >
> > A207 Science
> >  4:00 April 10
> >
> > The scale used by modern classical musicians is strikingly different
from that used in Bach> '> s time. In fact, over the past 500 years, a wide
variety of scales have permeated Western music. Amazingly, none of them was
> "> in tune> "> ! In fact, in some sense, no scale can be in tune.
> > Starting with a single vibrating string, we> '> ll use some physics and
some advanced mathematics to make sense of the various sounds a violin can
make. Add to the mix a little music theory and some basic arithmetic, and
we> '> ll be able to construct several different scales and see what> '> s >
"> wrong> ">  with each one. Finally, by constructing the modern scale, we>
'> ll be able to answer the question posed in the title.
> > Throughout the talk, these concepts will be illustrated on the violin
with excerpts from the classical repertoire, including passages from Bach,
Mendelssohn, and a modern composer named David Froom. This talk will be
accessible to people of all abilities (both mathematical and musical).
> >
>
>