Product Description

Mathematics has been used for centuries to describe, analyze, and create music. In this book, Leon Harkleroad explores the math related aspects of music from its acoustical bases to compositional techniques to music criticism, touching on • overtones, scales, and tuning systems • the musical dice game attributed to Mozart and Haydn • the several-hundred-year-old style of bell-playing known as ringing the changes • the twelve-tone school of composition that strongly influenced music throughout the twentieth century and many other topics involving mathematical ideas from probability theory to Fourier series to group theory. He also relates some cautionary tales of misguided attempts to mix music and mathematics. Both the mathematical and the musical concepts are described in an elementary way, making the book accessible to general readers as well as to mathematicians and musicians of all levels. The book is accompanied by an audio CD of musical examples.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107940 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 158 pages

Review
'Harkleroad's clear writing and generally well-chosen analogies simplify without trivializing the ideas he presents … I recommend this book especially to readers who have an interest in music and mathematics but perhaps not a lot of preparation, such as musicians, students in secondary education, or the interested lay public. Though equations actually rear their heads, they are tamed by Harkleroad's patient and careful explanations.' SIAM

'The book can be recommended as a first survey. Those who want to know more can find many suggestions for further study in the extensive bibliography. The book addresses readers who do not have much mathematical knowledge. Everything is explained clearly and at great length, and the theoretical facts are illustrated by many pictures, scores, and the tracks on the accompanying CD.' The Mathematical Intelligencer

Customer Reviews

Excellent primer
This book is an excellent introduction to the 'nature' of music in as far as maths, acoustics and physics is concerned. As a student of music and not maths I found the book to be well written, concise and reasonably straightforward to understand for the most part. There is also a complete lack of condescension in the text which is refreshing. My primary interest is in the construction of musical scales and this book has faciliated a greater grasp of this from the perspective from which it sets out. It is in no way as detailed as David Benson's 'Music: A Mathematical Offering' but in as far as the author's intent is to make the subject accessible to the layman or amateur in the field, this is probably for the better. That said, they compliment each other very well.

If you are embarking on a course in music, physics, maths or acoustics this will likely prove, at the very least, interesting - possibly invaluable.

Though not specifically a 'shortcoming', the book does not include much detail of scalar development within different cultures, nor does it contend with how humans apprehend music from a psychological perspective. Whilst the author would reasonably assert that the title of the book and its stated aims do not incorporate these, from the point of view of passing the 'so what' test the book would get a full five star rating (imo) if it was to tackle this relationship outright. If the primary aim of music is to give pleasure to a listener then it follows that maths 'behind' music should be employed to this end - and hopefully exposed to and employed by musicians themselves.

Overall a very worthwhile addition to the personal library, though the book is up against much competition for your time and money.