Music by the Numbers

Music by the Numbers

 by Eli Maor is an easy to read survey of the history of western music theory in the fields of mathematics and physics. I found the content really easy to read and accessible. I got the book on loan from the Fairfield library.

The book starts with Pythagoras' investigations into music before moving to the revisiting of the topic during the renaissance by Galileo Galilei. Interestingly, his father, Vincenzo, was an accomplished Lute player and theorist on music. Galileo inherited this interest and went on to lay the foundations of later enquiries into the nature and structure of music.

I haven't finished the book yet but I am enjoying the read.