Product Description

This is a commonsense, self-contained introduction to the mathematics and physics of music; essential reading for musicians, music engineers, and anyone interested in the intersection of art and science. "Mathematics can be as effortless as humming a tune, if you know the tune," writes Gareth Loy. In "Musimathics", Loy teaches us the tune, providing a friendly and spirited tour of the mathematics of music - a commonsense, self-contained introduction for the nonspecialist reader. It is designed for musicians who find their art increasingly mediated by technology, and for anyone who is interested in the intersection of art and science. In this volume, Loy presents the materials of music (notes, intervals, and scales); the physical properties of music (frequency, amplitude, duration, and timbre); the perception of music and sound (how we hear); and music composition. "Musimathics" is carefully structured so that new topics depend strictly on topics already presented, carrying the reader progressively from easy subjects to more advanced ones. Cross-references point to related topics and an extensive glossary defines commonly-used terms. The book explains the mathematics and physics of music for the reader whose mathematics may not have gone beyond the early undergraduate level. Calling himself "a composer seduced into mathematics," Loy provides answers to foundational questions about the mathematics of music accessibly yet rigorously. The topics are all subjects that contemporary composers, musicians, and musical engineers have found to be important. The examples given are all practical problems in music and audio. The level of scholarship and the pedagogical approach also make "Musimathics" ideal for classroom use.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #389972 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 500 pages

About the Author
Gareth Loy is a musician and award-winning composer. He has published widely and, during a long and successful career at the cutting edge of multimedia computing, has worked as a researcher, lecturer, programmer, software architect, and digital systems engineer. He is President of Gareth, Inc., a provider of software engineering and consulting services internationally.

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive but riddled with errors
I teach music technology, 20th century electronic music and music in the media and rely greatly on the accuracy and comprehensive nature of the teaching materials I use. Sadly, although the scope of Dr Loy's books is immense, the accuracy is, frankly, quite poor. By the time I found half a dozen bad mistakes, I checked the publisher's web site only to find that there are in excess of 40.

Errors in musical notation, equations of motion, speaker power and harmonic ratios mean that I would have to spend my time explaining the limitations of the book to my students and that means I can't recommend it. I hope Dr Loy gets the chance to bring out a second edition, though I doubt that the sales of the first will allow it. A corrected paperback version would make this a far more attractive proposition.

Stick with Dave Benson's "Music: A Mathematical Offering" (free PDF online or published by CUP) until Dr Loy can persuade his publishers to bring out a second edition.

*** Stop Press *** As of September 2008, MIT have produced a second printing (not a second edition) which corrects all the errata from the first printing. Sorry but I don't know how to differentiate between the two printings in the Amazon listing. However, when I've seen the second print, I'll certainly be able to improve the star rating that I originally gave the book. Well done MIT for fixing this and for Dr Loy for being honest and encouraging in getting the errata out in the public domain. I hope he can get V2 fixed as well.