![]() ![]() The connection established between mathematics and music through atonality invites us to think about ways in which we might expand the relationship to relevant physics and engineering equations in order to turn them into musical compositions. ![]() 2 This method created a form of music composition based solely on mathematics, specifically on discrete mathematics, which “ with objects that can assume only distinct, separated values.” 3 No pitch could be repeated until all twelve tones had already been chosen once. The numbers were then randomly ordered by the roll of a twelve-sided die, and music would be composed using the newly generated series of notes. Compositions based in atonality-regarded as “the first significant advance in this trend toward serialism in music” 1-employed all twelve chromatic notes of western classical music, which were each assigned a value of one through twelve at the composer’s discretion. the composition does not use any identifiable scale form and is often comprised of notes that “clash,” or are too close in frequency to exhibit waveform harmonics). The twentieth century was characterized in part by the growth of Contemporary and Expressionist styles in music, allowing for greater compositional development through the use of atonality, a non-traditional musical structure (i.e. One could argue that this is particularly so where music is concerned. This work of art, like many others by Eliasson, draws inspiration from the principles of mathematics.Īs the previous example illustrates, there exists the potential for a deeper study of the relationships between mathematics and the arts. The two ideas seem incompatible-the former represents that which is definite and the latter, the infinite-and yet when these cubes are superimposed so as to leave cutouts of negative space in between, viewers perceive the resulting shape to be a sphere. The polished steel structure presents a type of optical illusion: despite being only a collection of cubes, composed of sharp edges and defined vertices, the sculpture appears as a sphere, a seamless figure with no definite beginning or end. People passing through the engineering quad on the Texas A&M University College Station campus will undoubtedly notice an art installation by Olafur Eliasson. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |