Graduate Student Colloquium

Jacques van Wyk, University of Waterloo

The Mathematics of Tuning an Instrument; or, Why a Piano Is Always out of Tune

Have you ever wondered why a musical scale is seemingly arbitrarily split into twelve notes? Why twelve? And, how are these notes related? As we will see, there is no one answer to this question—there are multiple systems to define the twelve-note scale, and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. I will be bringing my guitar and my trumpet to demonstrate how this ambiguity affects the way each instrument is tuned and played, and how, with some instruments like the piano, compromises are made that affect music in subtle ways.

MC 5501

Snacks will be served after.