The mathematical rules for creating musical harmony may be more malleable than thought. Western music theory traditionally holds that chords sound most pleasant when they contain notes separated by ...

If we were to say the word ‘interval’ to you, what would your first thought be? The theatre? Ice cream? (With you on that one.) The basic dictionary definition of the word interval is a gap or space ...

A crucial link between mathematics and music is nicely illustrated by the Tonnetz, a geometric diagram representing the harmonic relationships between the notes of the musical scale. An early version ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - For singers and their audiences, being "in tune" might not be as important as we think. The fact that singers fail to consistently hit the right notes may have implications for the ...

Many musical cultures choose scales that establish simple frequency ratios (2:1, 3:2, 4:3) between notes. It is commonly believed that this choice is solely explained by the intention to maximize the ...