Mathemagical Music
Mathemagical Music
Mathemagical Music
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NATURE BY NUMBERS
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The number series shown in the beginning of the above video (1-1-2-3-5-8-13 etc) is known as the "Fibonacci Series",
in this series you will find that "golden ratio" which makes the spiral in the sunflowers seeds etc.
The Fibonacci Fractal Meditation (http://indigoaura.bandcamp.com/track/fibonacci-fractal-meditation-1-2-3-5-8?from=embed) below
is based on these numbers, if you click on the tracks name you can read the very interesting explanation on how this was done in the
tracks description on bandcamp.
Fibonacci Fractal Meditation (1-2-3-5-8)
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by Indigo Aura
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The Fibonacci Series is very closely connected with another series called the "Harmonic Series" which is the basic building block of all
musical sounds.
The harmonic series = 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13 etc. (freq x 1 - freq x 2 - freq x 3 etc)
While the Fibonacci series = 1-1-2-3-5-8-13 etc. (last 2 numbers added together to get the next one)
If you compare the 2 sets of numbers you will see that the harmonic series really contains the entire Fibonacci series, and that all of
the Fibonacci numbers are also pure harmonic overtones of the starting number in there series.
HARMONIC SERIES
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Below are some spectrum analyser images of the note C played with various commonly used musical sounds. The tone on the far left
is the main fundamental frequency of C while the higher tones to the right are its harmonic overtones. You can see that the intervals
between the harmonics are the same but that the volumes are different, it is these variations in the volume of each overtone that
make each instrument sound unique. If you play a higher or lower note on the same instrument then the whole structure simply
moves to the left or right (on the spectrum analyser) because the intervals between the harmonics are fixed and never change in
relation to the fundamental frequency. The fundamental frequency and all of the over tones are a type of sound called a sine wave,
this is the only sound that has no overtones in itself.
Without these intervals the sound will just be a noise, for it to be a musical tone it needs to have this exact arrangement of overtones
that you see mirrored in all of the sounds above. Some sounds like certain stringed instruments can distort the harmonic series
slightly making the intervals a bit too big, while other sounds like bells and gamelans have there own strange and completely unique
overtones not in this "classic" overtone series. These sounds however can be called "out of tune" and not "proper" musical sounds in
relation to the 12 tone scale that we use in the west. So now you can see that the Fibonacci series and the harmonic series are very
closely connected and appear to follow the same harmonic laws.
Anything that oscillates or vibrates has a fundamental frequency and harmonic overtones. Sound, light, atoms, orbits, electric
currents and rotating machines are all vibrations which is why you find these same harmonics intervals playing important roles in
many seemingly unrelated fields such as bridge construction, industrial energy grid optimisation, esoteric sound healing, subatomic
particle science and obviously music. Sound is the best way to experience and so truly understand how harmonics work because
sound is really just vibration that is within the human hearing range.
A good place to hear these overtones is in the sound of a mono-chord or overtone chanting, both of these sound generation
methods amplify the harmonics of the fundamental pitch so that you can hear them as a very familiar and ancient melody.
Here is a video with mono-chord and overtone chanting at the same time: (this man is a master of overtones)
With digital sound synthesis you can arrange sine waves according to the harmonic series to create sounds, the next video shows you
how the classic synthesiser wave forms are made:
Below is an image that shows you the harmonic series for 9 and the sum for calculating it, you can replace 9 with any number to
calculate its harmonic overtone series.
Another way to calculate the harmonic series is to add the first frequency (9) to itself and then to keep adding it to your answer over
and over again. So for 9 it would simply be 9 + 9 = 18, 18 + 9 = 27, 27 + 9 = 36 a very similar formula to the Fibonacci series.
The next video features a number grid called the "factor 9 grid". While watching the movie keep in mind that the factor 9 grid and the
harmonic series of 9 Hz are one and the same. (full explanation after movie)
FACTOR 9
The factor 9 scale is really a harmonic scale, a one octave portion of the harmonic series repeated over octaves and played as a music
scale on a multi-tonal instrument.
The harmonic series is not as random as some people think, it actually repeats in octaves almost like a normal music scale except for
the fact that there are twice as many notes in each successive octave. If you count the amount of notes in each octave in the chart
below, you will see that the first octave contains only one note (you dont count the first note in the next octave). The next octave
contains 2 notes, the next 4, the next 8 and so on 16, 32, 64 to infinity.
Each octave also contains all the same notes as the one below only one octave higher. So for example if you look at harmonics 4 to 7
(in the next chart), you will see the notes D-F#-A and C (36-45-54 and 63 Hz) these 4 notes make a perfect harmonic D major 7th
chord. This exact chord is repeated in each octave of the harmonic series, just with more overtones in between each of the 4 notes as
you go higher up the octaves of the harmonic series.
The long vertical column on the right (of the chart) shows the harmonic series for 9 Hz, while the bottom half shows the portion that
makes the factor 9 scale repeated over 4 octaves to the right and left. There are a few missing notes in the factor 9 scale chart in the
movie, here you can see that there are really 16 tones in each octave (16th to 31st harmonic). The note names are just what is closest
to our normal 12 tone scale and are not exactly accurate, they are just to get an idea of where to tone is in relation to the everyday 12
tone scale that we know so well.
This scale / slice of the harmonic series contains many intervals found in "pure" versions of our 12 tone equal temperament scale and
makes it seem obvious that our modern day 12 tone scale must have it's roots in the harmonic series.
The chart below shows the number of degrees found in each sacred geometry shape when all of its angles are added together,
as you can see sacred geometry and the harmonic overtone series are really one and the same if you use the degrees as Hz:
180-360-540-720-900-1080 = the harmonic overtone series of 180 Hz (2D shapes) (180 x 1 - 180 x 2 - 180 x 3 etc)
360-720-1080-1440-1800-2160 = the harmonic overtone series of 360 Hz (flower of life) (360 x 1 - 360 x 2 - 360 x 3 etc)
FACTOR 9 MUSIC
Here is some music that was made using a VST synthesizer called "Omnisphere".
Omnisphere uses single note recordings of real sounds that you can then play across the whole keyboard,
it can also have each individual note adjusted to exact Hz frequencies and so can play any scale that you like.
In this music each note has been re-tuned so that it plays the factor 9 / harmonic scale.
The voice sounds are real human voices with nice natural harmonics, you can hear these harmonics
ringing like bells and playing "ghost" melodies that are perfectly in tune with the actual chords and melodies.
Having the intervals between the notes the same as the intervals between the overtones inside each note really works,
creating fractal harmonies and "sonic geometry" that seems to have a very calming and balancing effect on people.
Overtone Alignment part 2 (remixed)
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by Indigo Aura
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PYTHAGORAS
There are other music scales that are also based on harmonics and geometry, for example the Pythagorean scale.
This scale is made by repeating a pure harmonic 5th (slightly different to a 5th on a normal piano) 11 times
and then lowering each tone by octaves (C to C or D to D etc) to make a 12 tone music scale.
This scale is more "normal" and easy to use because it has 12 tones just like our modern day equal temperament scale has.
It is known to sound out of tune in some keys while sounding better than normal equal temperament tuning in others,
for this reason many people consider it to be unacceptable for most music making.
However if you read the comments on the track below it seems that certain people actually like it to sound this way, I like the way it is
very pure in the root key (A), and then goes a bit off in parts of the song returning to pure harmony for each main "chorus" part.
Psychederic
Sunday'afternoon'(Pythagorean'scale)
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This track is made using a variation of the Pythagorean scale that has been adjusted to sound good in more keys.
Till the end of time (Pythagorean variation)
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Click on the image below to download a free tuning file pack for this scale. (vsts and Logic)
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/345636055517218/681105575303596/)
JUST INTONATION
Another type of scale that is also of interest is called a "just intonation" scale, just intonation scales are made using ratios of a single
reference pitch or root frequency. If you do not understand how ratios work, I will explain them in a simple way:
The ratio for A in the next chart is 9/8, this means that the frequency for A is the root frequency (G) multiplied by 9 and divided by 8,
all the ratios in the scale work in the same way just with different numbers. Multiplying your root frequency by 9 gives you its 9th
overtone and dividing this overtone by 8 gives you its 8th undertone, so these ratios are basically give you an undertone of an
overtone of your root frequency. A simple explanation for this would be that all of the frequencies in a just intonation scale are
harmonically related to the reference pitch or root frequency, and that this frequency will always be the first note in the scale.
As with the Pythagorean and factor 9 scales, a just intonation scale sounds very smooth and clean, but only when it is played in the
same key as its root frequency. So with these scales people usually have to re-tune instruments or synthesizers for each new piece of
music that they want to play, something that is easy nowadays with pre-set tuning files and digital synthesisers.
The chart below is an example of a 12 tone just intonation scale called a "Ptolemy scale", if you study these frequencies you will see
many connections to the factor 9 grid and its sacred geometry / harmonic series base. This chart also works in octaves from left to
right (the note names are on the left side of the chart).
The Bpms on the far right work like this: If you take for example the 1.5 Hz in the low octaves of G (top row of next chart) and multiply
it by 60 you will get 90 Bpm (1.5 x 60 = 90). In other words a 1.5 Hz sound and a 90 Bpm sound are exactly the same thing and so 90
Bpm is really an octave of 384 Hz, 192 Hz and all other octaves of G.
As you may have seen in the Sonic Geometry movie these numbers are also connected to the movements of our planet.
To take a closer look at this I used Google's minutes to hours / hours to days converter and made the "Natural Rhythms" chart
below. If you compare the numbers this chart to the info and video's above, you will see that there are many strange
connections between music and our way of measuring time.
SCEPTICS
Some people are very sceptical about these kinds of things,
so here are a few points that such people seem to wonder about the most:
You may for example be thinking that the second is just a "random man-made measure" and that using it in this way makes no
sense, but the fact of the matter is that the second is not random at all. The second was first defined as 1/86.400 of one solar day
(86400 sec = 24 hours) and later in terms of the earths orbit around the sun. Nowadays it is measured using atomic clocks which use
the transitional rate of certain atoms to define the second using the fundamental properties of nature as a base of reference, so it
seems like the second really is based on nature after all. Harmonic series based music scales and all of these connections also only
work when the sound frequency is measured in Hz (cycles per second). So the second really does have some strange connection to
vibration and harmonics which I do not fully understand yet.
You may also think that 43200 or 28800 can not be musically harmonious with 432 or 288, but they are. If you multiply a frequency
by 10 you will get it's 10th harmonic overtone which is 3 octaves + a major third, so adding or removing 0's is no problem at all from
a musical / harmonic point of view.
Another thing you may find strange is how there can be a connection between Hz and degrees in a shape or the size of a planet. To
understand this all you need to do is to look past the specific frequencies and rather focus on the harmonic gaps between them, then
you will see that sacred geometry or planet sizes really can be represented by the harmonic series if the ratios are the same.
432 HZ
There has also been a 432 Hz vs 440 Hz debate going on for as long as A = 440 Hz has been the standard reference pitch,
if you know about this then you may have noticed that in all of these scales A always seems to be 432 Hz and not 440 Hz.
Why this is so remains a mystery, but what it means to us is that music tuned to A = 432 Hz will always in be in harmony
or mathematically connected to all of these amazing things even with the normal equal temperament scale.
Below is a chart comparing "Equal Temperament" (your everyday music scale) to the Pythagorean and Ptolemy (JI) scales.
All of them are set to A = 432 Hz and as you can see many of the key frequencies are within 1 Hz of a perfect match, this means that
even ordinary music shifted to A = 432 Hz will still be in fairly good harmony with these "magic numbers".
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by Indigo Aura
00:00 / 07:20
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by Indigo Aura
1. Sunday afternoon
07:05
33:14
3. Fibbonachi Meditation
08:08
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by Indigo Aura
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