22 Apr
2009
22 Apr
'09
4:53 p.m.
Yes, the John Baez page http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/week234.html is a good start on the subject material in "Music Theory and Mathematics", and I like his comment about mathematicians and musicians (like Mars and Arizona). Not knowing much about musical composition, I'm unsure what to make of the group-theoretic angle on scales and chords. The mathematics seems cute but not deep (despite the "twin prime" tie-in), and from glancing at the essays I gather that few, if any, new insights into musical structure have been gained by the approach. Perhaps there hasn't been enough analysis of 19th century music to confirm or deny the hypothetical relationships. Hilarie