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Title

Fractal Dimension and Musical Complexity. From Bach to the Blues
Author

David Fowler
Organization: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Conference

2003 International Mathematica Symposium
Conference location

Imperial College, London
Description

A "musical coastline” can be derived from an instrumental solo by plotting pitch against time. The result is a discrete approximation to a (possibly) fractal curve. The fractal dimension of the curve yields some measure of the complexity of the musical phrase. Examples are taken from a violin sonata by J.S. Bach and from solos by three blues guitar players. To establish the reliability of the programming code, mathematical curves of known dimension are included in the analysis.
Subjects

*Arts and Humanities > Music
*Mathematics > Calculus and Analysis > Dynamical Systems
Keywords

fractal dimension, musical complexity, divider dimension, Bach
Related items

*Challenging the Boundaries of Symbolic Computation: Proceedings of the 5th International Mathematica Symposium   [in Books]