PBS special

The program was called: Musical Outsiders - an American Legacy.

Partch, Riley & Harrison.

Great show too. Didn't I already mention that?

D a v i d B e a r d s l e y * .. * ... .*
* .. I M M P & B i i n k! m u s i c
. .. . * .. . . .. . . . . .. .*..
. . . . * . ... dmb5561719@aol.com
* . .. . .. . * .. ... . ..
http://www.xingnet.com/immp/welcome.htm
. .. .*.. . .. . ..*. . .. . *. .


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Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 23:52:16 -0700
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On Fri, 20 Sep 1996, Daniel Wolf wrote:
> A question. Jonathan Walker=B4s excellent tutorial mentions Pythagoras=B4=
s
> comparison of the weights of hammers. I have encountered medieval
> illustrations of this experiment, but am not familiar with a classical
> source. In any case, comparing weights would not likely have lead to simp=
le
> ratios (anyone who has ever built a metallophone knows this - shape and
> density being equally important). Even a comparison of weights hanging fr=
om
> strings would have been inconclusive. String- and panpipe- lengths seem t=
o
> be the only successful classical means of determining ratios. Was the
> hammer experiment performed to show a negative result?

Because of conflict with acoustical reality, the story of Pythagoras and
the blacksmith's hammers is generally considered apocryphal.

--pH (manynote@library.wustl.edu or http://library.wustl.edu/~manynote)
O
/\ "Foul? What the hell for?"
-\-\-- o "Because you are chalking your cue with the 3-ball."

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Daniel Wolf wondered:

>A question. Jonathan Walker=B4s excellent tutorial mentions Pythagoras=B4=
s
>comparison of the weights of hammers. I have encountered medieval
>illustrations of this experiment, but am not familiar with a classical
>source. In any case, comparing weights would not likely have lead to >si=
mple
>ratios (anyone who has ever built a metallophone knows this - shape and
>density being equally important). Even a comparison of weights hanging >=
from
>strings would have been inconclusive. String- and panpipe- lengths seem =
>to
>be the only successful classical means of determining ratios. Was the
>hammer experiment performed to show a negative result?

The classical source is Iamblicus, _Life of Pythagoras_, ch. 26. No, the=20
physics don't work. But then, the esoteric gloss on these things being=20
more important to the Pythagoreans than reproducibility, it's doubtful=20
it bothered anybody at the time.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- / -- -- -- -- -- / -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- /
/ It isn't enough for yr heart to break because everybody's /
/ heart is broken now --Allen Ginsburg 1962 /

/ Jim Flannery jim@scientia.org / =20
/ Newgrange Media newgrange@sfo.com /
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- / -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- / -- -- -- -- -- /

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