Harmonious triads
Subtitle: physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in ninteenth-century Germany
By: Myles W. Jackson.
Series: Transformations; Transformations (M.I.T. Press)
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 395
ISBN-13: 9780262101165
Subjects: Music -- Acoustics and physics -- 19th century; Music -- Germany -- 19th century -- Philosophy and aesthetics; Germany -- Intellectual life -- 19th century
Description: "In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in nineteenth-century Germany." "Jackson discusses experiments in acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era: Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics, explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how each discipline helped shape the other."--BOOK JACKET
Notes: Includes bibliographic references (p. [351]-388) and index.