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HIGHLIGHTS

A Faithful Reconstruction of Pythagoras’s Monochord

The monochrome of Pythagoras consists of a resonance case on which a rope is held. By means of a mobile bridge you can change the intonation. The invention of monochrome is attributed to Pythagoras (VI century BCE), was called Canon Pythagogical because he used it to determine the mathematical relationships between musical sounds. The musical scale built according to the schematic is based, with mathematical rigour, on the interval of octave (Report 2/1), of fifth (3/2), of fourth (4/3) and, built on the harmonics, leads directly to the non-constant semitones.

Pythagoras Monocord

The monochrome of Pythagoras, faithfully reconstructed to listen to musical sounds like 2,500 years ago, is now permanently exhibited at the Mateureka Museum, after being used in the course “Mathematics and Music” organized by the museum and the Altavalmarecchia Foundation of Novafeltria for the students of the second and third upper classes.

The aim of the course was to make students understand that:

  • the strain permeates every aspect of our life;
  • the mathematics is the basic language of science and an indispensable tool to rationalize and understand the reality that surrounds us;
  • the evolution is the constituent element of beauty present in the world;
  • There are many fascinating connections between music and nutrition: the relationship between harmony and numbers, between the sounds of an agreement, the phenomena of resonance, the keys of the scores up to the musical games.

Music is one of the main cultural events of humanity, present in every place, geographical or historical, and instills pleasure to man.
Mature is the basis of musical creation.

Looking for the mathematical foundation of musical harmony, the Pythagoreans were the first who applied the mathematics to the description of natural laws.

During the course, an innovative and dynamic teaching has been used that, overcoming the frontal lesson and based on laboratories involving the use of tools, technologies and subsidies, stimulates the curiosity of the students and has amplified their educational effects.