Pythagorean Philosophy And Its Influence On Musical Instrume
"Music is the harmonization of opposites, the unification
of disparate things, and the conciliation of warring elements...
Music is the basis of agreement among things in nature and of the
best government in the universe. As a rule it assumes the guise
of harmony in the universe, of lawful government in a state, and
of a sensible way of life in the home. It brings together and
unites." - The Pythagoreans
Every school student will recognize his name as the
originator of that theorem which offers many cheerful facts about
the square on the hypotenuse. Many European philosophers will
call him the father of philosophy. Many scientists will call him
the father of science. To musicians, ...
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were the building
blocks of everything, Pythagoras began linking numbers and music.
Revolutionizing music, Pythagoras' findings generated theorems
and standards for musical scales, relationships, instruments, and
creative formation. Musical scales became defined, and
taught. Instrument makers began a precision approach to device
construction. Composers developed new attitudes of composition
that encompassed a foundation of numeric value in addition to
melody. All three approaches were based on Pythagorean
philosophy. Thus, Pythagoras' relationship between numbers and
music had a profound influence on future musical education,
instrumentation, and composition.
The intrinsic discovery made by Pythagoras was the potential
order to the chaos of music. Pythagoras began subdividing
different intervals and pitches into distinct notes.
Mathematically he divided intervals into wholes, thirds, and
halves. "Four distinct musical ratios were discovered: the tone,
...
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began his experiments
demonstrating the tones of bells of different sizes. "Bells of
variant size produce different harmonic ratios." (Ferrara, 1991).
Analyzing the different ratios, Pythagoras began defining
different musical pitches based on bell diameter, and density.
"Based on Pythagorean harmonic relationships, and Pythagorean
geometry, bell-makers began constructing bells with the principal
pitch prime tone, and hum tones consisting of a fourth, a fifth,
and the octave." (Johnston, 1989). Ironically or coincidentally,
these tones were all members of the Pythagorean scale. In
addition, Pythagoras initiated comparable experimentation with
pipes of different ...
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"Pythagorean Philosophy And Its Influence On Musical Instrume." Essayworld.com. November 5, 2006. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Pythagorean-Philosophy-Its-Influence-Musical-Instrume/55107.
"Pythagorean Philosophy And Its Influence On Musical Instrume." Essayworld.com. November 5, 2006. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Pythagorean-Philosophy-Its-Influence-Musical-Instrume/55107.
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