Farin Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 [smaller]ScienceDaily | Oct. 31, 2008 | Link[/smaller] It’s the most famous chord in rock 'n' roll, an instantly recognizable twang rolling through the open strings on George Harrison’s 12-string Rickenbacker. It evokes a Pavlovian response from music fans as they sing along to the refrain that follows: It’s been a hard day’s night And I’ve been working like a dog The opening chord to A Hard Day’s Night is also famous because for 40 years, no one quite knew exactly what chord Harrison was playing. Musicians, scholars and amateur guitar players alike had all come up with their own theories, but it took a Dalhousie mathematician to figure out the exact formula. “I started playing guitar because I heard a Beatles record—that was it for my piano lessons,†says Jason Brown of Dalhousie’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics with a good laugh. “I had tried to play the first chord of the song many takes over the years. It sounds outlandish that someone could create a mystery around a chord from a time where artists used such simple recording techniques. It’s quite remarkable.†Four years ago, inspired by reading news coverage about the song’s 40th anniversary, Dr. Brown decided to try and see if he could apply a mathematical calculation known as Fourier transform to solve the Beatles’ riddle. The process allowed him to decompose the sound into its original frequencies using computer software and parse out which notes were on the record. It worked, up until a point: the frequencies he found didn’t match the known instrumentation on the song. “George played a 12-string Rickenbacker, Lennon had his six string, Paul had his bass…none of them quite fit what I found,†he explains. “Then the solution hit me: it wasn’t just those instruments. There was a piano in there as well, and that accounted for the problematic frequencies.†Dr. Brown deduces that another George—George Martin, the Beatles producer—also played on the chord, adding a piano chord that included an F note impossible to play with the other notes on the guitar. The resulting chord was completely different than anything found in the literature about the song to date, which is one reason why Dr. Brown’s findings garnered international attention. He laughs that he may be the only mathematician ever to be published in Guitar Player magazine. “Music and math are not really that far apart,†he says. “They’ve found that children that listen to music do better at math, because math and music both use the brain in similar ways. The best music is analytical and pattern-filled and mathematics has a lot of aesthetics to it. They complement each other well.†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I only read the title of the thread, not the actual post, and instantly heard that opening chord of A Hard Day's Night in my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Cool story.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I hate fourier transforms, but then again they are quite handy for stuff like this there's many cool stories about math&music, it started with Pythagoras I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I hate fourier transforms, but then again they are quite handy for stuff like this I have yet to meet someone who actually likes them (well... maybe my math professor ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Quantum mechanics professors adore them, it's the root of their subject Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 BTW, I'm sure this is exactly what The Beatles and George Martin were considering when they chose that particular chording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I always knew there was some mathematics involved in that magic of the Beatles´ sound. Not only in that chord. They hit something unknown, they got into some strange dimension, they went into some rare wave lenght. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Not to be a simpleton, but why didn't anyone just ask George what chord he played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 they did... but that wasn't the stories end, because it wasn't just his play, but also some bass and, according to the article, one piano chord mixed in here's what wikipedia says about this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 here's what wikipedia says about this Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 umm... almost this was what Floggin' Molly WOULD say about the wikipedia article... or something here's the real link (*checks again*) yep, the real thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 did youtube took over wikipedia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foolonthehill Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 I hate fourier transforms, but then again they are quite handy for stuff like this there's many cool stories about math&music, it started with Pythagoras I believe Yes, the math behind the major scale is attributed to Pythagoras. But then again, nearly everything is attributed to Pythagoras. I did a project last year on the math in the musical scale last year. Very interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 umm... almost this was what Floggin' Molly WOULD say about the wikipedia article... or something here's the real link (*checks again*) yep, the real thing Thanks for the info, marvelous Martin. I tried to read it but blacked out from boredom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 there's many cool stories about math&music I just remembered that now: Tool + math Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Cool!! it's on Wiki too and on Songfacts off course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 yes, I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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