Harmonious Triads: Physicists, Musicians, and Instrument Makers in Nineteenth-Century Germany (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology (Hardcover))

Historically, music was long classified as both art and science. Aspects of music--from the mathematics of tuning to the music of the celestial spheres--were primarily studied as science until the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century, although scientists were less interested in the music of the spheres than the natural philosophers of earlier centuries, they remained committed to understanding the world of performing musicians and their instruments. In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in nineteenth-century Germany. Musical instruments provided physicists with experimental systems, and physicists' research led directly to improvements in musical-instrument manufacture and assisted musicians in their performances. Music also provided scientists with a cultural resource, which forged acquaintances and future collaborations.Jackson discusses experiments in acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era: Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics, explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how each discipline helped shape the other. Historically, music was long classified as both art and science. Aspects of music—from the mathematics of tuning to the music of the celestial spheres—were primarily studied as science until the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century, although scientists were less interested in the music of the spheres than the natural philosophers of earlier centuries, they remained committed to understanding the world of performing musicians and their instruments. In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in nineteenth-century Germany. Musical instruments provided physicists with experimental systems, and physicists'research led directly to improvements in musical-instrument manufacture and assisted musicians in their performances. Music also provided scientists with a cultural resource, which forged acquaintances and future collaborations. Jackson discusses experiments in acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era: Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics, explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how each discipline helped shape the other. "In Harmonious Triads, Myles Jackson analyzes the relationship of physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in nineteenth-century Germany." "Jackson discusses experiments in acoustical vibrations that led to the invention of musical instruments and describes work with adiabatic phenomena that resulted in the improvement of the reed pipe, used by organ builders. He examines the collaborations of physicists and mechanicians aimed at standardizing beat and pitch and considers debates stirred by the standardization of aesthetic qualities. He describes the importance for scientists of choral societies as a vehicle for social life and cultural unity. Finally, he discusses a subject that occupied both physicists and musicians of the era: Could physicists, using the universal principles of mechanics, explain musical skill? Was the virtuosity of a Paganini or a Liszt somehow quantifiable? Jackson's historical consideration of questions at the intersection of music and physics shows us how each discipline helped shape the other."--BOOK JACKET Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 1 Introduction......Page 12 2 E. F. F. Chladni: The Nodal Point between Acoustician and Musical-Instrument Maker......Page 24 3 Singing Savants: Music for the Volk......Page 56 4 The Organic versus the Mechanical......Page 86 5 Wilhelm Weber, Reed Pipes, and Adiabatic Phenomena......Page 122 6 The Fetish of Precision I: Scheibler’s Tonometer and Tuning Technique......Page 162 7 The Fetish of Precision II: Standardizing Music......Page 194 8 Physics, Machines, and Musical Pedagogy......Page 242 Appendix......Page 292 Notes......Page 294 Glossary......Page 360 References......Page 362 Index......Page 400 The MIT Press Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 1 Introduction 12 2 E. F. F. Chladni: The Nodal Point between Acoustician and Musical-Instrument Maker 24 3 Singing Savants: Music for the Volk 56 4 The Organic versus the Mechanical 86 5 Wilhelm Weber, Reed Pipes, and Adiabatic Phenomena 122 6 The Fetish of Precision I: Scheibler’s Tonometer and Tuning Technique 162 7 The Fetish of Precision II: Standardizing Music 194 8 Physics, Machines, and Musical Pedagogy 242 Appendix 292 Notes 294 Glossary 360 References 362 Index 400 ISBN-13:,9780262101165 An analysis of the intersection of science and music in nineteenth-century Germany: how music provided physicists with a venue for experiments as well as a cultural resource, and how physics assisted musicians in their art and musical instrument makers in