University Studies Course, Spring 2005

Math, Mind, and Music

Syllabus

Quick Links:

Class mailing list for announcements and discussion
Course Schedule with References
Textbooks
Class handouts

Summary:

Mathematics and Music, while seemingly disparate pastimes, engage the mind in surprisingly similar ways: Music is arguably the most abstract and scientific of the arts; Mathematics is the most abstract and artful of the sciences. And both involve elaborate artificial structures that are fundamentally non-verbal. This USC will explore these connections on different levels: The structural, the psychological, and the technological.

Structure in music
- Harmonic systems (tonal systems, chords, cadenza, ...)
- Musical form (sonata, fugue, raga, blues, ...)
- Is there universality across cultures?
- The relation between score and sound (level of abstraction in different musical genres, what does the musician contribute to what's in the score)
- The computer as a composer
Psychological
- How do we process sounds? (physics of the ear, neurological foundations, processing of sound in the brain, ...)
- Timbre, pitch, and loudness
- Grouping mechanisms in music
- Rhythm and timing
- Musical ability
- Music and emotion
- Development of music perception
Technological
- Tuning systems
- Synthetic sound generation
- Sound processing and compression
- Design of musical instruments

The course will consist of brief lectures on the main topics by faculty, in-class debate on particular issues, excursions to events in the Bremen area which are interesting for the class, and one project. Student projects have one or more of the following elements: literature survey of a particular topic, an original contribution to a particular issue, an analysis of a piece of music, a composition, a computer program which generates music, or the performance of a piece of music which is of specific interest to the class.

Requirements:

Regular class attendance; four half-hour quizzes in class during the semester - the quizzes will be based on the required reading and information discussed in class; one student project, which may be done in groups of two. The four quizzes and the project contribute 20 points each toward the total score.

Grade scale:

Cutoff score:	95%	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%	40%
IUB Points:	1.0	1.33	1.67	2.0	2.33	2.67	3.0	3.33	3.67	4.0	4.33	4.67

Instructors:

Adele Diederich	Professor of Psychology
Email:	a.diederich@iu-bremen.de
Office:	Research IV, 117
Phone:	200-3431

Marcel Oliver	Professor of Mathematics
Email:	m.oliver@iu-bremen.de
Office:	Reseach I, 107
Phone:	200-3212

Time and Place:

Tu 11:15-12:30, Fr 8:15--9:30 in the Research II Lecture Hall

Books

Auditory System:

Carlson, N.R. (2002). Foundations of Physiological Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Chapter 7, pp. 187-200
Coren, S., Ward, L.M., Enns, J.T. (CWE) (1999). Sensation and Perception. Hartcourt Brace, Chapter 6
Goldstein, E.B. (2002). Sensation and Perception. Wadsworth, 6th Edition. Chapter 10
Levine, M. W. (2000). Levine and Shefner's Fundamentals of Sensation and Perception. OUP, 3rd Edition, Chapters 15 and 16
Purves, D. et al. (2002). Neuroscience. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, 2nd Edition, Chapter 12

Hearing:

Coren, S, Ward, L.M. Enns, J.T. (CWE) (1999). Sensation and Perception. Hartcourt Brace, Chapter 7
Goldstein, E.B. (2002). Sensation and Perception. Wadsworth, 6th Edition. Chapter 11
Howard, D.M., Angus, J. (1996). Acoustics and Psychoacoustics. Music Technology Series
Levine, M. W. (2000). Levine and Shefner's Fundamentals of Sensation and Perception. OUP, 3rd Edition, Chapter 17

Music Perception:

Aiello, R. Sloboda, J.A. (1994). Musical Perceptions. OUP
Cook, P. (2001). Music, Cognition and Computerized Sound. MIT
Deutsch, D. (1999). (Editor) The Psychology of Music. Academic Press, 2nd Edition.
Juslin, P., Sloboda, J. (2001). Music and emotion. OUP
Roederer, J.G. (1995). The Physics and Psychophysics of Music. Springer-Verlag, 3rd Edition
Davies, J.B. (1978). The psychology of music. Standord University Press

Mathematics and Music:

Assayag, G., Feichtinger, H.G., and Rodrigues, J.F., eds. (2002). Mathematics and music, a Diderot mathematical forum. Springer-Verlag
Fauval, J., Flood, R., and Wilson, R., eds. (2003). Music and Mathematics - From Pythagoras to Fractals. Oxford University Press

Last modified: 2005/02/21
This page: http://math.iu-bremen.de/oliver/teaching/iub/spring2005/mmm/syllabus.html
Marcel Oliver (m.oliver@iu-bremen.de)