Topmusicanswers
- How is math able to predict the consonance or dissonance of musical pitches?
- What intervals are consonant dissonant?
- Can you measure dissonance?
- How are sine waves used in music?
How is math able to predict the consonance or dissonance of musical pitches?
In sixth century BC, Pythagoras discovered the mathematical foundation of musical consonance and dissonance. When auditory frequencies in small-integer ratios are combined, the result is a harmonious perception. ... This result indicates a link between consonance and the dynamical features of the signal.
What intervals are consonant dissonant?
A dissonant interval can be described as being "unstable" or demanding treatment by resolving to a consonant interval. A consonant interval is one that is stable and does not demand treatment.
Can you measure dissonance?
To compute a measure of dissonance one should take into account harmonics, i.e. compute all the pairwise contributions to the measureand sum them up (not too hard to do). For chords of more than two pitches you just sum up all the pairwise contributions to the measure, fundamentals and harmonics.
How are sine waves used in music?
The simplest model of a musical sound is a sine wave, were the domain (x-axis) is time and the range (y-axis) is pressure. ... The pitch, or note played, corresponds to the frequency of the wave. High notes have high frequencies, so the pressure varies quickly. Low notes have low frequencies.
