Harmonious Triads: Physicists, Musicians, And Instrument Makers In Nineteenth-century Germany (transformations: Studies In The History Of Science And Technology)
by Myles W. Jackson /
2006 / English / PDF
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Historically, music was long classified as both art and science.
Aspects of music--from the mathematics of tuning to the music of
the celestial spheres--were primarily studied as science until
the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century, although
scientists were less interested in the music of the spheres than
the natural philosophers of earlier centuries, they remained
committed to understanding the world of performing musicians and
their instruments. In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes
the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers
in nineteenth-century Germany. Musical instruments provided
physicists with experimental systems, and physicists' research
led directly to improvements in musical-instrument manufacture
and assisted musicians in their performances. Music also provided
scientists with a cultural resource, which forged acquaintances
and future collaborations.Jackson discusses experiments in
acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical
instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that
resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ
builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and
mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers
debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He
describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a
vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses
a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era:
Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics,
explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a
Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of
questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how
each discipline helped shape the other.
Historically, music was long classified as both art and science.
Aspects of music--from the mathematics of tuning to the music of
the celestial spheres--were primarily studied as science until
the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century, although
scientists were less interested in the music of the spheres than
the natural philosophers of earlier centuries, they remained
committed to understanding the world of performing musicians and
their instruments. In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes
the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers
in nineteenth-century Germany. Musical instruments provided
physicists with experimental systems, and physicists' research
led directly to improvements in musical-instrument manufacture
and assisted musicians in their performances. Music also provided
scientists with a cultural resource, which forged acquaintances
and future collaborations.Jackson discusses experiments in
acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical
instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that
resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ
builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and
mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers
debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He
describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a
vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses
a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era:
Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics,
explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a
Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of
questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how
each discipline helped shape the other.