Geometry and Music: A Geometrical Duet

 Hello everybody!

In today's post, we are going to discover the connection between the world of geometry and the world of music thanks to the structure of shapes and sounds. Have you ever wondered how music can develop so well thanks to geometry?

First of all, we must remember the basic geometrical shapes such as circles, squares and triangles. These shapes are constantly present in music, and they are transformed to create sounds!

Circles are associated with rhythm, as the circle has no beginning and no end and the musical beat is a constantly repeating cycle, so we can say that musical rhythm is a circle that never stops. Like this, it happens with squares; a square has four equal sides and most songs are divided into four measures, so each musical square derives in each block of the song structure.

To continue, music is mainly composed of patterns, as these patterns repeat themselves creating melodies, however, in the branch of geometry we routinely find geometric patterns that repeat themselves generating new formulas and different shapes.

Symmetry is also present in both disciplines, since, in songs, the melody can be mirrored or inverted, so it is known as musical mirror symmetry, while in geometry we call symmetry to a figure that is the same on both sides of a line.

Geometry and music at school.

In schools, music and geometry can be combined in different ways. As teachers, we can use geometrical figures to introduce pupils to new basic musical concepts: to draw circles to teach time signatures, triangles to explain chords...

During music lessons, pupils can learn to recognise musical patterns and symmetrical melodies, as well as create their own songs using geometric shapes, making learning more creative and interactive.

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What did you think of the amusing and special connection between geometry and music? 

I hope that you have learned new things and that you are motivated to continue discovering the important role that geometry plays in most areas of everyday life!

See you next time!