Musical Rhythm through the Lens of Computational Mathematics
Does the flamenco music of southern Spain evolve from the fandango? Is the birthplace of the fandango, the city of Huelva in Andalucia? Do the rhythms used in Cuban traditional music originate from Africa? Are the North Indian talas more complex than the West African rhythm timelines? Does Sub-Saharan African music possess hierarchical meter? What makes a “good” rhythm good, and is it possible to generate “good” rhythms algorithmically? Until a short time ago answers to such questions were sought using non-mathematical comparative techniques based on historical, biological, anthropological, sociological, geographical, psychological, or neurological information. More recently these questions have been explored using computational mathematics. This talk will illustrate how the application of computational geometry informs consideration of these questions. This material is taken from my recent book: The Geometry of Musical Rhythm, Chapman and Hall/CRC Press, January 2013.