Theory & Analysis
Essays on the fundamentals of Western music — from Pythagoras to the present day.
This series began with a simple question: what are the acoustic and mathematical foundations that underlie Western music, and how do they connect to the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic language we use today? The answers turned out to be more far-reaching — and more surprising — than expected.
The series is challenging in the best sense. It assumes some musical knowledge but no specialist background in acoustics or mathematics.
Accompanying videos are available on the YouTube channel.
PDF versions of the articles – useful for study purposes or as teaching resources – are available on the Downloads page.
“What a breathtaking series! Brilliant analysis of what one might call the common thread of Western music.”
— YouTube viewer
Pythagoras & the Music of the Future I – Timbre
How the harmonic series shapes the character of musical sound — and why timbre is not merely a surface quality but a fundamental aspect of musical structure. Read…
II — Melody & Harmony The acoustical origins of melody and harmony — tracing the connections between the overtone series, intervals, and the harmonic language of Western music from Medieval times to the twentieth century. Read…
III— Musical Time, Part I The first of two essays examining rhythm, metre, and musical time through the same acoustic lens as applied to pitch in the earlier essays. Read…
IV — Musical Time, Part II In this part we investigate the higher frequency ratios of the harmonic series and discuss how complex, irregular rhythms can be derived from the same ratios that create dissonant intervals. Read…
V — Synthesis How frequency ratios can unify pitch, rhythm, and timbre in contemporary composition — from spectral music and instrumental synthesis to FM and granular techniques — with a broader reflection on where the music of the future might lead. Read…
Watch video presentations of this series