Pythagoras and the Musical Ratios - Research Paper Example

PYTHAGORAS AND THE MUSICAL RATIOS Pythagoras was a Greece mathematician who is remembered for his various contributions in the field of mathematics. He was majorly involved with the study of geometry, a field in which he taught and left the most popularly known Pythagoras theorem as his discovery. Contributions of the philosopher however go beyond the theory. He founded a school in his period and promoted studies in “music, geometry, and astronomy” (Svarney and Svarney, p. n.p.). Pythagoras’ development of music ratios is traced to a real life experience in which he heard varying sound from a blacksmith’s work.

The then difference in sound pitch was attributed to differences in weight of hammers that were being used in the shop. Pythagoras then ventured into an exploration mission of researching on creation of different pitches of sound based on ratios. Using a one stringed instrument, the mathematicians varied the lengths at which the string would be stopped and he observed the generated sound pitches (Richards, p. 30, 31). Through the experiments, Pythagoras and his followers observed that by using different ratios, different sounds could be created that, when played together, resulted in a pleasant music to the audience.

He then identified three particular ratios that are still applicable in the present music. The first ratio, known as the musical octave, is obtained by using the ration 2:1 on a stringed instrument. The other ratios, “musical forth” and “musical fifth” are generated by the ratios 4:3 and 3:2 respectively. The ratios were later found to bear a relationship with the weights of the hammers that were used in the workshop from which Pythagoras heard sounds with varying pitches (Karamanides, p. 88).The philosopher and mathematician therefore left a legacy in music because his ratios still forms the basis of musical notes.

Works citedKaramanides, Dimitra. Pythagoras: pioneering mathematician and musical theorist of Ancient Greece. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. PrintRichards, Melanie. Pythagoras and music. Available from: http://www.rosicrucian.org/publications/digest/digest1_2009/05_web/07_richards/07_richards.pdf. [Accessed on 06 March 2012]Svarney, Patricia, and Svarney, Thomas. The Handy Math Answer Book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 2005. Print