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 ...

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 ...

The use of 12 tone intervals in the music of many human cultures is rooted in the physics of how our vocal anatomy produces speech, according to researchers. The particular notes used in music sound ...

Almost every song you hear has a chord progression. This forms the harmonic content of the song, and is often what gives a song its emotional impact. But what about the melody? The notes of the melody ...

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 ...