Pythagorean Philosophy and its influence on Musical Instrumentation

A detailed Summary of Pythagorean Philosophy and its influence on Musical Instrumentation

"Music is the harmonization of opposites, the unification

of disparate things, and the conciliation of warring elements...

Music is the basis of agreement among things in nature and of the

best government in the universe. As a rule it assumes the guise

of harmony in the universe, of lawful government in a state, and

of a sensible way of life in the home. It brings together and

Every school student will recognize his name as the

originator of that theorem which offers many cheerful facts about

the square on the hypotenuse. Many European philosophers will

call him the father of philosophy. Many scientists will call him

the father of science. To musicians, nonetheless, Pythagoras is

the father of music. According to Johnston, it was a much told

story that one day the young Pythagoras was passing a

blacksmith's shop and his ear was caught by the regular

intervals of sounds from the anvil. When he discovered that the

hammers were of different weights, it occured to him that the

intervals might be related to those weights. Pythagoras was

correct. Pythagorean philosophy maintained that all things are

numbers. Based on the belief that numbers were the building

transposition. After this, a second melodic theme is created.

theories created the basis for their musical endeavours.

halves. "Four distinct musical ratios were discovered: the tone,

Approximate Word count = 1310
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts

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