{"product_id":"music-by-the-numbers-by-eli-maor-9780691176901","title":"Music by the Numbers","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow music has influenced mathematics, physics, and astronomy from ancient Greece to the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMusic is filled with mathematical elements. The works of Bach are often said to possess a math-like logic, and Igor Stravinsky once remarked that \"musical form is close to mathematics.\" Meanwhile, Arnold Schoenberg, Iannis Xenakis, and Karlheinz Stockhausen went further, writing music explicitly based on mathematical principles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYet, Eli Maor argues that music has influenced math at least as much as math has influenced music. Starting with Pythagoras, proceeding through the work of Schoenberg, and ending with contemporary string theory, \u003ci\u003eMusic by the Numbers\u003c\/i\u003e tells a fascinating story of composers, scientists, inventors, and eccentrics who have played a role in the age-old relationship between music, mathematics, and the sciences, especially physics and astronomy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMusic by the Numbers\u003c\/i\u003e explores key moments in this history, particularly how problems originating in music have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Perhaps the most famous of these problems is the vibrating string, which pitted some of the greatest mathematicians of the eighteenth century against each other in a debate that lasted more than fifty years and eventually led to the development of post-calculus mathematics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOther highlights in the book include a comparison between meter in music and metric in geometry, complete with examples of rhythmic patterns from Bach to Stravinsky, and an exploration of a suggestive twentieth-century development: the nearly simultaneous emergence of Einstein's theory of relativity and Schoenberg's twelve-tone system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWeaving these compelling historical episodes with Maor's personal reflections as a mathematician and lover of classical music, \u003ci\u003eMusic by the Numbers\u003c\/i\u003e will delight anyone who loves mathematics and music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597279641836,"sku":"9780691176901","price":91.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691176901-music-by-the-numbers.jpg?v=1777947655","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/music-by-the-numbers-by-eli-maor-9780691176901","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}