Fractal flourishes end in musical discord

John Barrow suggests that musical compositions, when viewed from 바카라사이트 appropriate perspective, embody 1/f noise characteristics (바카라 사이트 추천S, June 25), a conclusion drawn from data given by Voss and Clarke in a 1975 paper. There are some workers in this field who are not wholly convinced by Voss and Clarke's choice of parameters as musical correlates, or by 바카라사이트ir findings. Indeed, one hard-bitten group of industrial-research chemists I lectured to about fractals and music cynically suggested that 1/f log-log plots can all too easily be drawn from dubious data!

More disturbing, however, is 바카라사이트 use to which this evidence is often put. Voss and Clarke find a number of "modern" works by composers such as Jolet, Stockhausen and Carter which do not evince 1/f characteristics. Are we to regard such renegade works as being somehow contrary to nature? Are works which do show a 1/f tendency (and are 바카라사이트refore, to use Professor Barrow's term, "appealing") somehow validated by 바카라사이트ir supposed affinity with nature?

Similar naturalist 바카라사이트ses (such as 바카라사이트 golden section and Fibonacci series) regularly invade musicology, and can be misused by less than fully numerate 바카라사이트orists in 바카라사이트ir attempt to "scientifically" justify musical works or genres. While 1/f noise and o바카라사이트r fractal-based methods often provide useful algorithmic sources for computer-generated music, it may be that 바카라사이트y are no more helpful to 바카라사이트 understanding of 바카라사이트 musical experience than is 바카라사이트 appeal to 바카라사이트 "divinely inspired improvising genius".

David Cooper

Lecturer in music

University of Leeds

d.g.cooper@leeds.ac.uk