Classical
The architecture of the score. Equal temperament, prepared instruments, and the mathematical foundations of the Western concert tradition.
Curated Articles & Guides
Explorations of the mathematics and materials of classical music.
The Equal Temperament Compromise: Why Every Piano Is Slightly Wrong
Every interval in Western music, except the octave, is slightly out of tune. The Pythagorean comma, Bach's solution, and the mathematical lie at the heart of harmony.
Read Article →The Reverb of the Hall: When Architecture Became the Instrument
The RT60 of a cathedral is not a passive property — it is a compositional constraint. How Gabrieli, Palestrina, and Beethoven wrote for the rooms their music would live in.
Read Article →The Pitch Before the A: How Concert Pitch Drifted and Why It Matters
A=440 Hz has been standard since 1939. Before that, pitch drifted steadily upward for two centuries. The physics, the economics, and what it means to play old music at the wrong frequency.
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