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Canvas Network

A Mathematical Exploration of Music and Sound

St. Mark's School via Canvas Network

This course may be unavailable.

Overview

This course explores the fundamental connections between mathematics and music. Students will have the opportunity to learn about acoustics and music theory through a mathematical lens. At the core of music are patterns, structures, and relationships that can be understood mathematically. The course will provide opportunities for students to play with and explore some of the concepts, including scales, the Fourier series, beats, rhythm, and harmonics.

Syllabus

  • Week 1: What is sound? How do we hear sound?
  • Week 2: Sound waves and simple harmonic motion. 
    Pitch, octaves, and scale.
  • Week 3: Fourier Series
  • Week 4: The Harmonic Series
    Project - Build an Instrument
  • Week 5: Rhythm and Time
  • Week 6: Intervals and Chords
    Creating Music with Mathematics

Taught by

Ben Riva and Lauren Riva

Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 1 Class Central review

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  • Deepak Jois
    This is a great introductory course to understand the mathematics behind music. I have taken a couple of other music related courses online (Introduction to Classical Music by Yale and Developing Your Musicianship by Berklee). Those courses were great, but I could never fully grasp the music theory bits. After watching the lectures in this course, things got much clearer.

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