Mathematics and Music, Thursday, September 4th, 6:00-7:00 PM

Why are there twelve notes in an octave? Why does the piano have seven white keys and five black ones? Why does playing on the black keys alone sound “Eastern” to our ears? What are major and minor keys, and what makes them sound happy or sad? How do we know where to put the frets on a guitar?

If you think these are just historical quirks, think again. The answers go back to something much deeper—mathematics and physics. People have known for thousands of years that the rules of harmony are closely tied to the logic of numbers and the natural laws of sound.

In this talk, we’ll explore the connections between math, science, and music, look at how tuning systems developed, and try to understand the hidden logic behind the sounds we know and love.

Age range: we invite students  entering grades 5-10 (Students should be comfortable adding and multiplying fractions.)
This is the July lecture repeated by popular demand