Volume no :67, Issue no: 1, July (2021)

Journal of Mathematical Sciences: Advances and Applications

AN EVALUATION OF MUSIC’S ADHERENCE TO BENFORD’S LAW THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Author's: Sybil Prince Nelson, Brian Wickman, Jack Null and Eric Gazin
Pages: [73] - [84]
Received Date: July 27, 2021
Submitted by:
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18642/jmsaa_7100122222

Abstract

Western Music history can be divided into six major categories: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Post-War. We analyzed a large collection of music from each time period and discovered a clear mathematical connection. Within each time period, we found that the note frequencies measured in hertz (Hz) and note durations are all Benford distributed. We also found that as music progressed through time, note lengths adhered closer and closer to the Benford distribution with the exception of the Post-War time period.

Keywords

Benford distribution, classical music, logarithmic distribution of first digits, box plots, Kruskal-Wallis test.