On Eugenio Beltrami and his mathematical-musical contribution: Sulla teoria della scala diatonica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18149955Parole chiave:
music theory, diatonic scale, Eugenio Beltrami, mathematics and music, Greek scale, major triadsAbstract
The present paper concerns a contribution by Eugenio Beltrami, a renowned mathematician of the 19th-century European school, which offers a logical justification for the diatonic scale. This justification is based on two fields of study: acoustics (a little bit of auditorial perception) and mathematics (a little bit of numerology). A historical epistemological analysis of how Greek and modern music theorists approached the problem before Beltrami precedes the presentation to facilitate evaluation of his contribution. The Greeks relied on acoustics and numerology, while modern theorists emphasized acoustics alone. The paper argues that Beltrami returned to the Greeks by placing importance both on numerology and perception. Furthermore, due to its rigorous, quite formalized approach, Beltrami's work can be considered a precursor to modern mathematical music theory.
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