• Question: Would you say there is a dividing line between music as art and music as science?

    Asked by blatantlyninja to Martin, Rob on 23 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Robert Thompson

      Robert Thompson answered on 23 Mar 2012:

      Hmmm I’m not sure what you mean… Music can be treated very mathematically, that makes it no less artistic. Some people think that music created purely using mathematics and the rules of music produces something too rigid, but in my experience this doesn’t have to be so. Music like anything else is full or rules and guides, you can be a little more fluid with how rigorously you follow these unlike science. (free jazz is the exception to this, they don’t follow any rules….. but who likes free jazz)

      As I don’t fully understand your question I am struggling to give you a better answer than this sorry.

    • Photo: Martin Zaltz Austwick

      Martin Zaltz Austwick answered on 23 Mar 2012:

      I think art and science have slightly different goals. These goals can sometimes overlap, but don’t always. I think art is more focussed on expression and communicating, while science is more interesting in investigating and understanding. That’s not strict, and sometimes they overlap, as I’ve said. The science of music would have to do with recording technology, acoustics, and analysing musical structure, whereas the art of music is making music!

Comments

  • Photo: blatantlyninja

    blatantlyninja commented on :

    Sorry I wasn’t quite sure how to phrase it- but you’ve answered it pretty well. So if you made some music, that was based entirely scientifically on what would sound good to the human brain, would we be able to ‘calculate’ music that’s even better than what we come up with without thinking about the science?

  • Photo: Rob

    Rob commented on :

    It really depends, I think some people are naturally better at detecting patterns using their ears. These people will be able to produce nicer sounding music without thinking about the rules. What they are actually doing is able to reproduce the rules instinctively without thinking about it.

    You must remember though that music is often a way of expressing emotions. The only way we have been able to develop musical rules and techniques that convey these emotions is by realizing what makes us relate to the feeling of happiness or sadness etc.

    So although mathematics can explain music well, and music is actually very mathematical based when you come to it. You need to have the human element there for the music to convey a meaning to other humans.