Is there something about the Fibonacci sequence that appeals to people, that makes it pleasing to us, even if we are unaware of it's existence? Everything I have read so far indicates that there is. And there is quite a bit of evidence. The golden rectangle seems to appear throughout history in architecture. From the Parthenon, the United Nations Building and even the burial chamber of Ramses IV, the golden rectangle and ratio are there.
It would be difficult for most people to articulate exactly what it is that they find pleasing in art and other things of beauty. Proportion would be an easy place to begin when attempting that description. This was especially true of the Greek whose art including urns, vases, statues and building frequently reveals the golden ratio and rectangle. There are numerous examples of art in many different forms and cultures where the golden ratio or golden rectangle appears. In less than scientific term, it is a work where the focal point appears to fit of fill the shape and proportions of the golden rectangle.
Incredibly, the Fibonacci sequence, a numerical sequence, shows up in music. Though music seems to be a rather
non-math sort of thing, it is certainly not the case. The most obvious place to begin looking is at the keys of a piano. The black keys are grouped in arraingments of 2's and 3's. An octave consists of 5 black keys and 8 white keys, for a total of 13 - all Fibonacci numbers.
Many of the resources I used indicate there are Fibonacci numbers in many different types of music and various compositions. It seems that Fibonacci appears everywhere from childrens songs - the pentatonic scales used in "Ring Around the Rosie" consists of 5 notes - to Gregorian Chant and even Bach. My music analysis is not sophisticated enough to fully articulate this phenomenon, but many of the references cited in my bibliography have more in depth discussion and analysis.
In an interesting and fairly brief interview, Keith Devlin Ph.D, Dean of Science at Saint Mary's College, talks about some of the fascinating aspects of the Fibonacci sequence on NPR radio. He claims that "anything humans find aesthetically pleasing - you can probably find the Fibonacci sequence behind it somewhere." He includes music in this discussion as well.
To hear the interview Click here. In the interview Dr. Devlin also discusses Fibonacci in glass, issues of randomness within plant growth and much more. Very interesting.
You'll need RealPlayer to hear the interview, but if you don't have it you can download it at NPR's site.
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