(Although it could be just a coincidence, it is also amusing to note that there are 24 major and minor chords-something else my students study!)ĭuet of Bach piece. This highlights the importance of accurate rhythm-in terms of simultaneous note onsets and matching note durations-which is a basic mathematical aspect of music that is taught in the course. Yo-Yo Ma points out that the Zoom performance is actually a melding of 24 separate recorded performances. A cello transcription of Carnival of the Animals is performed simultaneously over Zoom by 24 young cello players from all over the world, including China, Korea, and the US.
#Music math videos series#
The course discusses the windowed cosine series that underlie these spectrograms.Įxcerpt from a piece by Saint-Saëns. We examine a spectrogram displaying the fundamentals and overtones that make up the musical tones, both instrumental and vocal, within this duet. Gidden’s voice is also capable of beautiful pitch flexibility. An interesting math and music aspect of this duet is the use of two unfretted string instruments, cello and unfretted banjo, which are not tied specifically to a discrete tuning, such as the 12-tone equal tempered tuning used for fretted banjos, guitars, and pianos.
Rhiannon Giddens plays banjo, an instrument which descended from the African banjo, while singing Build A House. It is part of his project to play each of Bach’s many preludes in as many countries as he is able, in order to foster appreciation of Bach’s music and engage with other musical cultures.Įxcerpt from a duet with Rhiannon Giddens. Yo-Yo Ma has played this piece, Prelude to Cello Suite #1 in G-major, to varied audiences around the world. I ask the students that when they watch this video they should take special note of the following five musical passages:Įxcerpt from a Bach cello piece. One particular activity, based on a PBS Frontline video featuring Yo-Yo Ma, demonstrates the wide-ranging opportunities for discussion in such a class. This music from around the world can be discussed using mathematical techniques in the course, such as spectrograms, greatest common divisors, and modular arithmetic, giving us a way to connect mathematics to a diverse range of cultures and peoples. Music in the course ranges from jazz, rhythm and blues, African drumbeats, Afro-Latin rhythmic techniques, Indian raga, and Chinese classical folk, in addition to Western European music. The course is a wonderful blend of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the art of music. Since 2009, I have taught an interdisciplinary course on mathematics and music at UW-Eau Claire.
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