Math + Music

Music and math have been always connected through a variety of means. Numbers, patterns, and scales have a fundamental connection to how music has evolved. It all began in Ancient Greece with a man called Pythagoras.

Pythagoras was a pretty famous philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. In reference to music, he made a pretty startling discovery which directly impacted the growth of the tonal system that we still use today in western music. He figured out that if you stretch a string to certain length you get a frequency of vibration. If you change that by a certain ratio you get another pitch.  Below is an estimation of those ratios based on a major scale from Pythagoras.

Many of these intervallic relationships have stood to be largely true with some minor variation as we can measure things with more accuracy. Not bad for a bunch of people who did not have the technological advances we have today.

Intervals are the spaces between pitches. They are related to each other by a ratio. 

You’ll be able to see this connection to math and music come to life as we team up with our neighbors the RSM Winchester for a Math and Music Treasure Hunt! This Saturday March 10th, we will be opening our doors on 50 Cross Street in Winchester from 3:30-5:30. Join us for games, prizes and fun!

Join us on March 10th!