What is music? is it 100% mathematic?

[Jarfi]

I have been pondering what music actually is, why does a certain configuration of sounds increase dopamine/endorphin in our brain. What makes music feel good.

Is it their mathematical order in the sounds so they follow mathematical rules or equations?

Or is it something pshycological that our brain connects it to voice and languages, so we connect noises similar to spoken languages to wellbeing?

Since it has a steady beat does it have to do with measuring time?

I just don't get it why does music exist? is there any simple defenition of it.

I wanted to know what you tought, this isn't exactly physics, but technically everything in the universe is physics.



I also wanted to point out that this forum desperately needs a philosophy room i didn't find one.

 

[rollcast]

I also wanted to point out that this forum desperately needs a philosophy room i didn't find one.

You obviously didn't look very hard for it.

https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

 

[Jarfi]

You obviously didn't look very hard for it.

https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

Ah great, I was going to post this question there.

I am a lazy person

 

[Evo]

Ah great, I was going to post this question there.

I am a lazy person

This would not qualify for posting in Philosphy. There are two sets of rules for Philosophy that must be followed, they are stickied at the top of that forum, make sure you read both before attempting to post.

 

[atyy]

All of the above.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/experiments.htm
http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture/triumph-of-the-cyborg-composer-8507/

 

[Moonbear]

Harmonics in music pertain to physics, and it's all about sound waves. But, I went to party attended by a bunch of music instructors last night and that just makes it harder to define as one was talking about noise performance or noise music or something like that. So, I now officially have no idea where music begins and noise ends.

 

[dimensional]

This question simply hearkens to the age old, "What is art?". It's the same thing of course.

My own definition would be that music is organized sound. I listen to quite a lot of ambient music, stuff that you would hardly consider to be as such. However it becomes rather obvious once one delves into those alternative roads that there is a rather similar level of depth in orchestration, structuring and composition for sound design as there is with tonal, orthodox instrumentation.

 

[nickadams]

There is a composer called Xenakis who " pioneered the use of mathematical models in music such as applications of set theory, stochastic processes and game theory".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iannis_Xenakis
Here is a thread with some of his music in it ... Not my cup of tea but some of the people in that forum seem to like it.

http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=18353.0

What do you guys think?

 

[atyy]

My own definition would be that music is organized sound.

Indeed!