Cris Forster's book

I have received the book "Musical Mathematics". It looks extremely well organized on a plethora of pertinent subjects about musical cultures around the world. Perhaps the greatest thing since Helmholtz. I have to research it thoroughly.

Oz.

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www.ozanyarman.com

Chris Vaisvil wrote:
> Just wanted to say I just placed an order for Cris' book.
>
> Chris
>
>> This is from Cris Forster's book, which I can hardly wait to read (my friend forgot to bring it over, maybe this weekend though).
>>
>
>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> I have received the book "Musical Mathematics".

What does the title mean? I'm asking how much and what kind of mathematics it contains.

I'm sure this is a question for Cris.

Oz.

--

✩ ✩ ✩
www.ozanyarman.com

genewardsmith wrote:
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman<ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>> I have received the book "Musical Mathematics".
>
> What does the title mean? I'm asking how much and what kind of mathematics it contains.
>
>

I think Amazon gives you a few preview pages - may want to try that Gene.

Chris

On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 2:03 PM, genewardsmith
<genewardsmith@sbcglobal.net>wrote:

>
>
>
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com <tuning%40yahoogroups.com>, Ozan Yarman
> <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
> >
> > I have received the book "Musical Mathematics".
>
> What does the title mean? I'm asking how much and what kind of mathematics
> it contains.
>
>
>

The book is mostly about acoustic instruments and their properties, and about tuning. So it's mostly ratio and string length calculations and such things, logarithms for cents and temperaments; and the mathematics having to do with inharmonicity of various sounding bodies; and other things that belong to acoustics.
I have the book but I haven't really spent a lot of time with it yet, so I'm sure there's more. It doesn't deal witho with algorithmic composition, combinatorics, etc.;
Fourier transforms, Besel functions etc. are also absent, as far I can see.
The subtitle of the book is "On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments".

My impression is that everything, even pretty advanced stuff, is very clearly presented even for a mathematical layman like myself.

JN

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "genewardsmith" <genewardsmith@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman <ozanyarman@> wrote:
> >
> > I have received the book "Musical Mathematics".
>
> What does the title mean? I'm asking how much and what kind of mathematics it contains.
>

[IMHO]
As mentioned the book is designed to expand the field of acoustical instruments. The design of these has always been a symbiotic relationship with the tunings used.
In regard to the tuning and how mathematics pertain there, it is a historical perspective focusing on especially things that did not exist in English before. Having a collection of many books on tuning, there are things I was exposed to for the first time.
Since the ancients use string lengths, it is their doing, not Forster's.
The other things you mention are already covered elsewhere and would have made the book bigger than it already is.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Juhani" <jnylenius@...> wrote:
>
> The book is mostly about acoustic instruments and their properties, and about tuning. So it's mostly ratio and string length calculations and such things, logarithms for cents and temperaments; and the mathematics having to do with inharmonicity of various sounding bodies; and other things that belong to acoustics.
> I have the book but I haven't really spent a lot of time with it yet, so I'm sure there's more. It doesn't deal witho with algorithmic composition, combinatorics, etc.;
> Fourier transforms, Besel functions etc. are also absent, as far I can see.
> The subtitle of the book is "On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments".
>
> My impression is that everything, even pretty advanced stuff, is very clearly presented even for a mathematical layman like myself.
>
> JN
>
>
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "genewardsmith" <genewardsmith@> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman <ozanyarman@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I have received the book "Musical Mathematics".
> >
> > What does the title mean? I'm asking how much and what kind of mathematics it contains.
> >
>

Quick side-note:

The title "Musical Mathematics" does not seem, to me, unlike, John's "The
Mathematics of Music"...both seem like good titles and the former seems to deal
more with directly applicable acoustic tuning while the latter more with
mathematical theories and some acoustic examples (that can be directly applied
to actual instruments).

Right. I did not mean to imply that any of those things are shortcomings or that I miss them, I was just trying to give Gene a general idea of the book. I personally find it excellent.
Here's the author's webpage with several reviews (including Kraig's!) http://www.chrysalisfoundation.org/Musical_Mathematics_Pages.htm

jn

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Brofessor" <kraiggrady@...> wrote:
>
> [IMHO]
> As mentioned the book is designed to expand the field of acoustical instruments. The design of these has always been a symbiotic relationship with the tunings used.
> Since the ancients use string lengths, it is their doing, not Forster's.
> The other things you mention are already covered elsewhere and would have made the book bigger than it already is.
>