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What Math Actually Sounds Like

Posted by timothy on from the and-not-just-like-a-hatchet dept.

cellophane writes "If Verdi had a math fetish and a computer, would he be John Greschak? Greschak composes music based upon the mathematical properties of various mathematical objects (e.g. a six-sided die or pentominoes). He writes computer programs to realize devised algorithms and uses the results of these processes as source material for musical pieces. Greschak's newest addition, Platonic Dice: Dodecahedron for 12 woodwinds, was created by using musical material derived from the mathematical properties of one of the Platonic dice. Well, its not Verdi, but its definitely interesting."

19 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. Great, now can we expect... by gregwbrooks · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... to see thousands of web-porn banners screaming "see Dodecahedrons in hot back-stage action now!!!"

    --


    "It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
  2. I could have saved them effort by christurkel · · Score: 1, Funny

    To be math sounds like "No! What do you mean it didn't check!" or "What do you mean, pi r squared?"

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    CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/
  3. Yup, pretty much like I thought by McCart42 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I anticipate that Hilary Rosen and Jack Valenti will spend the hereafter listening to this, if there is any sense of justice in the afterlife.

    --
    "I may be quite wrong." - Socrates
    1. Re:Yup, pretty much like I thought by awfwal · · Score: 5, Funny

      If there was any justice in the afterlife, the would be listening to boy bands.

  4. What die do I use by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny
    to make a saving throw against the MIDI sounds coming out of my speaker?

    Please hook up a sampler and record it that way.

    I like the music, its just that the MIDI kills me.

  5. Re:puhhhlleeeassseeee by tomstdenis · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree. Man was that horrible. I could make better music by dropping a drum set down a Tibetan mountain side.

    Tom

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  6. for 12 woodwinds? by Drunken+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like "for 12 monkeys with kazoos."

    No, I take that back. It didn't sound that good.

    --
    Have you been stalked by Seth today?
  7. I've heard this music before by dfn5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used to hear this every day in high school during band practice.... while everyone was warming up.
    I wouldn't exactly call it music though...

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    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
    1. Re:I've heard this music before by Graspee_Leemoor · · Score: 2, Funny

      " I used to hear this every day in high school during band practice.... "

      I didn't hear this in band practice- I was too busy being distracted by some girl and what she was doing with her flute...

      graspee

  8. A good use for this music, except... by Alsee · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would propose making monsterously huge speakers and blasting this into Iraq, but in my oppinion it would be a violation of the Geneva Convention.

    -

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    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  9. Close Encounters of 3rd Kind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    This is truely one of the worst things i've ever heard

    Is it just me or did that sound like something from the music 'conversation' in Close Encounters of the Third Kind? I mean, if the aliens were drugged-out at the time...

  10. Confucious says... by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 5, Funny

    The truely wise man posts his music in MIDI before summiting his webpage to Slashdot.

  11. Re:Worst. Music. Ever. by dirkmuon · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, it's not.

    Britney.

  12. I'll tell you what math sounds like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    It sounds like the unholy scream of ultimate suffering. BTW, I'm a math major. Thinking of getting a minor in music.

  13. How about just... by jonman_d · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...`cat pi.txt >> /dev/dsp`?
    Am I the only one that finds catting random things to the sound device[s] amusing?

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    --
    http://nemilar.net - Not your grandmother's soup kitchen
    1. Re:How about just... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I'd try cat /dev/hda >> /dev/dsp, but we already know what 20 GB of pr0n sounds like & someone would get suspicous about all the moaning (I'm a virgin who reads slashdot--yes, I realize that that's redundant :)

  14. Re: Also done with code... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2, Funny


    > For another related site about creating weird sounds, check out the CAITLIN project [unn.ac.uk]...it creates music out of code. I wish I could get my hands on a copy of their code, it'd be interesting to see what happened when I ran my programs through it...

    My "Hello, world!" blew up, but I'm still famous for my "Concerto in C# for two strings and a segfault".

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  15. I must have met... by Powercntrl · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...some prodigal math genius at Wal-Mart the other day, because he appeared to be no more than 6 years old, yet he was playing the EXACT same song on a Kawasaki synthesizer.

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    DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
  16. If you remember math class by phorm · · Score: 3, Funny

    You would already know what math sounds like

    Teacher: Class, today we're going to have a pop quiz

    Students: Groaaannn, whiinne, snifffle

    Depends on the audience though, a room full of geeks with a math fetish would probably make much more disturbing "music"...

    Disclaimer: I like math, but it's not a fetish - phorm