The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music
In 1670, the Bolognese mathematician Pietro Mengoli published his Speculationi di musica, a highly original work attempting to found the mathematical study of music on the anatomy of the ear. His anatomy was idiosyncratic and his mathematics extraordinarily complex, and he proposed a unique double m...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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2007
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| _version_ | 1797075083442782208 |
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| author | Wardhaugh, B |
| author_facet | Wardhaugh, B |
| author_sort | Wardhaugh, B |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In 1670, the Bolognese mathematician Pietro Mengoli published his Speculationi di musica, a highly original work attempting to found the mathematical study of music on the anatomy of the ear. His anatomy was idiosyncratic and his mathematics extraordinarily complex, and he proposed a unique double mechanism of hearing. He analysed in detail the supposed behaviour of the subtle part of the air inside the ear, and the patterns of strokes made on the eardrum by simultaneous sounds. Most strikingly, he divided the musical octave into a continuous set of regions which he colour-coded to show their effects on a listener. His work did not find its way into the mainstream of seventeenth-century mathematical studies of music, but when examined in its context it has the potential to shed light on that discipline, as well as being of considerable interest in its own right. Here, I focus on the anatomical and mathematical basis of Mengoli's work. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:45:16Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:70b005e8-b28e-4f12-9bf1-5f1703375f83 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T23:45:16Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:70b005e8-b28e-4f12-9bf1-5f1703375f832022-03-26T19:38:45ZThe logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of musicJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:70b005e8-b28e-4f12-9bf1-5f1703375f83EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2007Wardhaugh, BIn 1670, the Bolognese mathematician Pietro Mengoli published his Speculationi di musica, a highly original work attempting to found the mathematical study of music on the anatomy of the ear. His anatomy was idiosyncratic and his mathematics extraordinarily complex, and he proposed a unique double mechanism of hearing. He analysed in detail the supposed behaviour of the subtle part of the air inside the ear, and the patterns of strokes made on the eardrum by simultaneous sounds. Most strikingly, he divided the musical octave into a continuous set of regions which he colour-coded to show their effects on a listener. His work did not find its way into the mainstream of seventeenth-century mathematical studies of music, but when examined in its context it has the potential to shed light on that discipline, as well as being of considerable interest in its own right. Here, I focus on the anatomical and mathematical basis of Mengoli's work. |
| spellingShingle | Wardhaugh, B The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title | The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title_full | The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title_fullStr | The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title_full_unstemmed | The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title_short | The logarithmic ear: Pietro Mengoli's mathematics of music |
| title_sort | logarithmic ear pietro mengoli s mathematics of music |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wardhaughb thelogarithmicearpietromengolismathematicsofmusic AT wardhaughb logarithmicearpietromengolismathematicsofmusic |