Music and Math

If we really sit down and ponder, one will find that math is everywhere. There is math in the air, in the water, in space; everywhere. Chemical bonds are math, two hydrogen and one oxygen are mathematically place together to make water. For musicians, math is the key to playing an instrument. "Both are experienced as pure objects of the brain, and both have meaning outside of the brain only by artificial connections."

Every note on any instrument has a vibrating motion (sound waves), causing a certain pitch. Depending on the number of sound wave determines the key. These notes have corresponding frequency which are measured physically in hz (hertz) or cycles per second. Hertz is an equation of:

Hertz (number of vibrations a second) = 6.875 x 2 ^ ( ( 3 + MIDI_Pitch ) / 12 )

The ^ symbol means ‘to the power of’. The MIDI_Pitch value is according to the MIDI standard, where middle C equals 60, and the C an octave below it equals 48. As an example, let’s figure the hertz for middle C:

Hertz = 6.875 x 2 ^ ( ( 3 + 60 ) / 12 ) = 6.875 x 2 ^ 5.25 = 261.6255

The next note up, C#, is:

Hertz = 6.875 x 2 ^ ( ( 3 + 61 ) / 12 ) = 277.1826

And the next note, D, is:

Hertz = 6.875 x 2 ^ ( ( 3 + 62 ) / 12 ) = 293.6648

Without math, there would be no music, without music I would not be at our school. So thank you math.

(sound frequencies of C and G)