he music perception of the harmonic series of a fundamental sound follows

A New Model of the pathway of the equiangular spiral. From physics to music harmonic series
describes the dynamic of a composite tone made up by simple tones of
increasing frequencies corresponding to a linear approach where arithmetical

Perception in
relations apply. The simple sounds called partials, harmonics or overtones are
integral multiples of the fundamental frequency according to their position on
the series (fig.1a). From philosophy and mathematics to music starting with
Pythagoras, Boethius and continuing with Zarlino the first harmonics of the The harmonic series of a fundamental sound can be represented using a log-

(Music) Acoustics:
b b n
series were rather subject to a geometrical approach where models as circle, & b
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
arithmic spiral whose equation in polar coordinates is:
Eb F G A B C Db Eb E F
curves or spiral were elicited. The aim of this paper is to continuing the former ?
θ
approach using Descartes’ formula of the equiangular spiral placing the the 1
2
F C
3 4
F
5
A C
6
r = 22 π
F
musical sound into the context of (bio)sciences where different manifestations
Fig.4: Harmonic series on F which completes C major scale and also helps in understanding An alternative form of this equation is:
reveal forms following same patterns. Not only does musical sound follows the
the dynamics of different scales and modes revealed by both the F and C Harmonic Series.
equiangular (logarithmic) spiral pathway (fig.1b) but also galaxies, sea shells,
r = ek θ , where: k = ln2
plants, and the paths of human hands gestures. 2π
In Level 1 of the harmonic series the perfect fifth becomes evident at the point

The Equiangular Fig.1a: An harmonic

series on C.
where the proportion is 3:2 as pitch frequency (2/3 for string length). This
phenomenon will repeat at each level above. Boethius called this interval the
Here is a diagram of the above spiral:

E
“arithmetic mean” of the octave - since it corresponds to the formula of D

Spiral Pathway arithmetical numbers: a = 1/2(m+n). As consequence, the perfect forth

resulting will represent the “harmonic mean” responding to the formula of
reciprocals: h = 2mn/(m+n) (Apel, 1976). And this “complementarity” print F
is the Ancient Greece sense of "symmetry" art and sciences. The arithmetic C Fig.7: The equiangular
(logarithmic) spiral
and the harmonic mean of two numbers were applied by Zarlino in establishing
Licia Alina Novac Stelios Charalambides the major and minor chords. He also maintained the use of curve (circle)
(alina.novac@stonebow.otago.ac.nz) (stelios@maths.otago.ac.nz) diagrams to explain the intervals and their relations - those models are more G
philosophical than mathematical approaches (Zarlino, 1558) and they actually B
Department of Music Department of Mathematics and Statistics
apply to the hexachord theory.
University of Otago, Dunedin, University of Otago, Dunedin, A B
New Zealand New Zealand The second level with the fractal pattern of the dominant seventh chord and
Fig.1b: A three the dynamics of the tonal harmony opens the door to the nowadays sense of The arc length between successive notes is constant and equal to:
dimensional representation symmetry: the equal steps of the whole tone scale (harmonics 7-8-9-10-11-13- 2
If you want to understand the invisible, look carefully at the visible.
of the corresponding
14-16) (fig.4). The whole tone scale perception of the last level superpose over 1+k , where: k = ln2
equiangular (logarithmic) k 2π
spiral pathway.
the skeletal dominant chord of C fundamental (harmonics 9,12,15) explaining
– The Talmud
the “altered” scale (“everything altered” /+/-9,+4,+5/ over a Dominant 7th The following diagram illustrates the above fact by using two different colors
chord). And a “blues scale” on C would be the result of superposing C harmonic to draw the spiral between consecutive notes:
Within the harmonic series all even partials play a quantitative role by multiplying series (harmonics 1,6,7,15,11,13,15,3) over an F one (harmonics 1,5,7, 3). The
frequencies and act in a symmetrical way mean while all odd harmonics name list of such analysis may go on.
new sounds (fig.2, harmonics 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15) as described by physics (“The E D
asymmetry creates the phenomenon”, Pierre Curie, Sur la symetrie dans les The scientific aesthetics begun with Hanslick in the 19th century and continued
phenomenes phisiques, Journal de Physique (1894). The perfect 5th (harmonic by Ghyka (1927, 1931, 1938, 1946, 1952) give rise to the same pythagorean
3)then is the ‘missing point’ of the Ground Level floor and the “turning point” reverberations of universal harmony, proportions and patterns. Into the proximity F
of the next level (fig.4). of the phenomenon to be studied further 20th century American and European C
Music(ological) analysis. Fig.8: Distance between
The major 3rd then (harmonic 5) becomes the missing point for the level below consecutive notes
and the “turning point” between harmonics 3 and 6, and the same process goes Mathematical Information G
on for all odd harmonics. This process follows the formula of Descartes The harmonic series of a fundamental sound with the corresponding frequencies B
equiangular spiral: θ is given below:
r = 22 π A B
Harmonics develop fractal patterns (harmonics 1,2,3,5,7). B F A B
C C G C E G C D E G B C Fig.5: The harmonic
series of C.
The logarithmic spiral is indeed equiangular.
65.5 Hz 131 196.5 262 327.5 393 458.5 524 589 655 720.5 786 851.5 917 982.5 1048

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
The angle between the tangent to the spiral at any point and the radius at that
fundamental 5th major 5th flat major major sharp 5th flat flat 7th
point is constant:
3rd 7th 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 7th
octave

The following figure shows how to draw in Polar Coordinates:

k ()
φ = ψ +180 — θ = arctan 1 = 83.7047°

Fig.2: Levels of the harmonic series.

This fractal is the the dominant seventh chord what would explain tonal harmony
eliciting the need of a harmonic series on F.

Fig.3: Fractals in nature, a fern. r

θ Fig.6: Polar Coordinates Fig.9: Relationship
between angles

Poster Design: Michael Crawford michael.crawford@stonebow.otago.ac.nz