Little-known facts about music theory: The Mathematics and Physics Behind Music

Little-known facts about music theory: The Mathematics and Physics Behind Music

Overtone series: Chords in nature

Fundamental tone + overtones = timbre: The overtones of A4 (440Hz) are 880Hz, 1320Hz...


The principle of chord formation: Major triads (C-E-G) precisely correspond to the 4th, 5th, and 6th notes of the overtone series


2. Musical War: Equal Temperament vs. Perfect Temperament

Equal Temperament: The "compromise solution" for the piano, where all semitones are equal (√2^(1/12))


Just intonation: Chords are purer, but modulation is difficult (a major problem in the Baroque period)


Auditory comparison: Pure tone major triads vs. Equal tone major triads (The latter is slightly "dirty")


3. Psychoacoustic tricks

The vanishing fundamental frequency: Even when only overtones are played, the brain "imagines" the fundamental frequency (the principle of telephone sound).


Binaural Beats: When listening to audio with a difference of less than 30Hz between the left and right ears, a third rhythm will be "hallucinated" (used for meditation music).


(Experiment: Play a perfect fifth with a tuning APP and observe whether the ratio of Hz numbers is 3:2)


Content planning ideas

From simple to complex: From note names to jazz improvisation, catering to learners at different stages


Interdisciplinary links: Combining mathematics, physics, and psychology to broaden cognition


Practical-oriented: Each article contains exercises/experiments that can be tried immediately


Visualization AIDS: Interval diagrams, keyboard/fingerboard annotations, sound wave spectrum diagrams

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