Science News: Music Has Its Own Geometry

From Science News: three music professors have come up with a way to categorize and analyze music from a mathematical point of view.

Writing in the April 18 issue of Science, the trio has outlined a method called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of musical theory into that of contemporary geometry. They take sequences of notes, like chords, rhythms and scales, and categorize them so they can be grouped into "families." They have found a way to assign mathematical structure to these families, so they can then be represented by points in complex geometrical spaces, much the way "x" and "y" coordinates, in the simpler system of high school algebra, correspond to points on a two-dimensional plane.

PBS: Jazz

PBS has a website dedicated to JAZZ - the music and the Ken Burns film.

Welcome! The resources offered here are designed to help you use the PBS JAZZ video series and companion Web site in music, social studies, math, and language arts classes. JAZZ may be taped off-air and used for up to a year following broadcast, or you may choose to purchase it through Shop PBS for Teachers. The lesson plans may also be adapted for use as stand-alone resources.

Includes lesson ideas and related links.

Thanks to Dana for the link!

Website: pi10k

pi10k is an amazing website that combines music and math:

This experiment attempts to convert the first 10,000 digits of pi into a musical sequence.

Select ten notes, and your corresponding selection translates into an integer. The first not you select will equal "1", the second will equal "2", and so on. As your computer cycles through the digits of pi, the corresponding note will "play."

A great multidisciplinary tool, or a fun way to get students interested in pi.

Website: FAWM

FAWM stands for February Album Writing Month, a yearly songwriting challenge. From the site:

Can you write 14 songs in 28 days? What are you waiting for... inspiration?

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." — Jack London

For songwriters, this is the club. FAWM.ORG forges a collaborative community each February, where musicians of all walks and skill levels write an album's worth of material in the shortest month of the year (roughly one tune every other day). So many quality works so quickly is challenging, but healthy and doable, even with a full-time job not related to music. We began in 2004 with a mere four "fawmers," and grew to over 800 hopefuls in 2007. Fawmers are a mix of music professionals, students, homemakers, and folks who work dayjobs but rock nightclubs. It's a great experience for everyone.

It could be good for Musical/Rhythmic students, or for lessons incorporating music and poetry.