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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Understanding The Beauty Of Mathematics By Composing Claude Debussy's Syrinx Into Mathematical Equations, Mackenzi Mehlberg Jun 2023

Understanding The Beauty Of Mathematics By Composing Claude Debussy's Syrinx Into Mathematical Equations, Mackenzi Mehlberg

Honors Projects

Mesmerizing melodies and narrative storytelling are exemplified in Claude Debussy's Syrinx. As a well-known piece of solo flute literature, it is considered beautiful. Conversely, mathematics is seen as logical, and by implication not beautiful. Using Fourier Analysis, Syrinx can be represented in a different context: a series of mathematical equations. These mathematical equations can then be played as a different interpretation of Syrinx. With this interpretation, we see that mathematics is beautiful.


From Story To Song: Exploring The Storytelling Potential Of Instrumental Music, Celine Darr Apr 2023

From Story To Song: Exploring The Storytelling Potential Of Instrumental Music, Celine Darr

Honors Projects

For this project, I have composed a piece of program music with the aim of capturing scenes from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" through music. The project seeks to answer questions regarding the elements that make instrumental music "programmatic", or able to portray a story.