Would anyone believe that the wonderful world of music is greatly influenced by
a mathematical genius?
Music compositions especially the classical ones reflect the symphony of the
mind which are translated and transposed to sounds for one’s listening pleasure.
In reality, music before being getting acknowledge has to go a systematic metrical
process. Musical notes do not serve as symbols alone. They signify beats that transcends
the tempo and rhythm of a musical piece. Every given note possesses individual
measure which corresponds to desired number of beats.
A whole note symbolizes four beats while a half note means two beats. As we go
along, a quarter note eight note and the sixteenth note represents one beat, half beat
and one fourth of a beat respectively.
These notes are given life when transcribed on the grand staff consisting of five
parallel lines and four spaces. Familiar symbols to be found are the clefs (G and F) and
followed by a key signature which will dictate the tempo and cadence of music and its
mood.
It will be impossible for a symphony orchestra to play music without the guiding
notes. The master conductor will be rendered helpless to lead with his baton to bring out
music clarity and cadence in the absence of chords that will bring harmony to their
rendition. Needless to say, all the musical instruments will be rendered inutile in
bringing out the performance expected of them to do. In the era of world-renowned
musicians both past and present, the influential contribution of one of the world’s
greatest mathematicians is to be given tribute.
In Greece way back 529 BC, a philosophical man with great inclination in
mathematics established a belief that numbers are the underlying and unchangeable
truth of the universe. He presented an influential wisdom that musical notes vary in
accordance with the length of vibrating strings of a lute. That, whatever length of string
a lute player starts with, when doubled, the note will always fall exactly an octave.
Until today, it remains to be the standard basis of the music scale. The
mathematician is none other than Pythagoras, whom we owe one of the famous
mathematical equations, called Pythagorean Theory.
1, 2, 3, 4…do re mi fa sol la ti do!
By: Maria Luisa D. IngaranI Teacher II | Bataan National High School | Balanga City, Bataan
