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Wooden Books
Harmonograph: A Visual Guide to the Mathematics of Music
Harmonograph examines the remarkable and mathematical beauty in sound and music.
During the nineteenth century, a remarkable scientific instrument known as a harmonograph revealed the beautiful patterns found in music. Harmonograph is an introduction to the evolution of simple harmonic theory, from the discoveries of Pythagoras to diatonic tuning and equal temperament. Beautiful drawings show the octave as triangle, the fifth as pentagram; diagrams show the principles of harmonics, overtones, and the monochord. Anthony Ashton examines the phenomenon of resonance in Chladni patterns, describes how to build a harmonograph of your own, and provides tables of world tuning systems. This inspiring book will appeal to musicians, mathematicians, designers, and artists alike.
Wooden Books was founded in 1999 by designer John Martineau near Hay-on-Wye. The aim was to produce a beautiful series of recycled books based on the classical philosophies, arts and sciences. Using the Beatrix Potter formula of text facing picture pages, and old-styles fonts, along with hand-drawn illustrations and 19th century engravings, the books are designed not to date. Small but stuffed with information. Eco friendly and educational. Big ideas in a tiny space. There are over 1,000,000 Wooden Books now in print worldwide and growing.
During the nineteenth century, a remarkable scientific instrument known as a harmonograph revealed the beautiful patterns found in music. Harmonograph is an introduction to the evolution of simple harmonic theory, from the discoveries of Pythagoras to diatonic tuning and equal temperament. Beautiful drawings show the octave as triangle, the fifth as pentagram; diagrams show the principles of harmonics, overtones, and the monochord. Anthony Ashton examines the phenomenon of resonance in Chladni patterns, describes how to build a harmonograph of your own, and provides tables of world tuning systems. This inspiring book will appeal to musicians, mathematicians, designers, and artists alike.
Wooden Books was founded in 1999 by designer John Martineau near Hay-on-Wye. The aim was to produce a beautiful series of recycled books based on the classical philosophies, arts and sciences. Using the Beatrix Potter formula of text facing picture pages, and old-styles fonts, along with hand-drawn illustrations and 19th century engravings, the books are designed not to date. Small but stuffed with information. Eco friendly and educational. Big ideas in a tiny space. There are over 1,000,000 Wooden Books now in print worldwide and growing.
58 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1999
21 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 8, 2024
Welp i didn't understand that one bit HAHAHA. But i enjoyed the pictures (bukunya satu halaman tulisan satu halaman gambar gitu so there's a lot) and who knows that when translated to graphs, music has such an outstanding organization to them. Pretty cool and adds nuance to the world. The technical rambling is an otherworldly total nonsense for me it sounds poetic lmao. I had an episode of crying under the overtones too (tmi) so this book is not without some sentimental value. The production's super pretty so i'm so collecting this series in the future. 3.5/5
June 19, 2024
3,5/5*
July 27, 2008
This was a really cool book. My mom gave it to me many years ago, and I just not got around to reading it. Basically, it's about this really cool machine called the "harmonograph". If you've ever heard of tuning forks, this will make sense to you. If not, go . So, a long time ago, someone set up two tuning forks at right angles to one another some distance apart. Using mirrors, a light was shone at one tuning fork, bounced off toward the second, and then finally the light bounced off that one and onto a dark surface. Very pretty and interesting patterns emerged when both tuning forks were set into motion, and of course different patterns emerged depending on the ratios of the vibrations.
These movements were too small and too fast for someone to record, so the harmonograph was invented. It uses the same principles except it uses pendulums swinging at different ratios to simulate the movements of the tuning forks. Pendulums can be made to swing in much longer and slower motions than tuning forks. By attaching pens and paper to the pendulums, beautiful patterns could be drawn tracing out their travels. Check out the cover of the book for one example, although trust me - the others are far more beautiful and intricate than that one.
These movements were too small and too fast for someone to record, so the harmonograph was invented. It uses the same principles except it uses pendulums swinging at different ratios to simulate the movements of the tuning forks. Pendulums can be made to swing in much longer and slower motions than tuning forks. By attaching pens and paper to the pendulums, beautiful patterns could be drawn tracing out their travels. Check out the cover of the book for one example, although trust me - the others are far more beautiful and intricate than that one.
September 30, 2021
didn't understand anything but the images were pretty
October 15, 2024
Writing this review a couple months after finishing this brief, but information-rich book, as I keep thinking about the concepts it illustrated.
The book serves as visual evidence and visual explanation of how music's physical manifestation is mathematical. I appreciate the author's determination and success at documenting the strange, and strangely informative, harmonograph.
I found the images themselves harmonograph produces attractive in the same sort of formal way that the engineered geometry of a suspension bridge or railway station can be - as an illustration of physical forces in the structure made to carry them. I wouldn't want a tattoo of one, but I could see them being used as architectural motifs at a concert hall.
The book serves as visual evidence and visual explanation of how music's physical manifestation is mathematical. I appreciate the author's determination and success at documenting the strange, and strangely informative, harmonograph.
I found the images themselves harmonograph produces attractive in the same sort of formal way that the engineered geometry of a suspension bridge or railway station can be - as an illustration of physical forces in the structure made to carry them. I wouldn't want a tattoo of one, but I could see them being used as architectural motifs at a concert hall.
August 10, 2017
A lovely collection of methods and techniques used in early days or in other words were discovered by observing the musical harmony and notes. The illustrations illustrate the beauty of the numbers and patterns and ease with which we can find them around us via different media.
December 27, 2019
Pleasant read with beautiful illustrations. A little more time spent on the basics of music theory and its connection to frequencies and harmonics would have been appreciated as ratios were being thrown about all over the text with minimal introduction.
December 29, 2024
I think it just needed an extra page or two at the front explaining the ratio stuff that most of the book then used. If I'd understood that I think I'd have really enjoyed it all, as it was, I enjoyed bits, but definitely felt like it was too clever for me.
August 6, 2019
Great book, but could have used more detailed construction pictures and plans.
February 18, 2023
Spirograph, the book. A neat visual guide to various harmonies, with assorted mathematics. History of how these rhythmic machines work and are built, and instructions on how to build them included.
September 7, 2023
3.5 🌟 Super interesting, even if do I have very little knowledge of music theory!
December 2, 2023
A fun, quick read on topics including the Chladni patterns and kaleidophones. I found it a little difficult to follow terms from Western music systems.
June 11, 2024
So informative and inspiring.
July 8, 2024
fun pictures, lots of words and numbers
brain goes brrr i wish i was intelligent enough to understand everything
brain goes brrr i wish i was intelligent enough to understand everything
February 19, 2017
Fascinating read, despite grammatical errors and some other minor inaccuracies
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January 10, 2016This is a really beautiful little book. Looking at the diagrams (of which there's plenty) and realising how these patterns and shapes are created by musical sounds left me amazed.
It is pretty heavy on the music theory though. If you're not quick at discerning between your major thirds or minor sevenths then it might feel a bit dense if you're reading all in one go.
It is very short too, so I'm not including it in my reading challenge.
It is pretty heavy on the music theory though. If you're not quick at discerning between your major thirds or minor sevenths then it might feel a bit dense if you're reading all in one go.
It is very short too, so I'm not including it in my reading challenge.
February 11, 2008
This is a cool little book that discusses and illustrates relationships between music and mathematics. Like all of the Wooden Books, it's brief.
April 19, 2008
I still don't understand how ratios between vibrations lead to different tones, but I have now spent a good deal of time making Chladni patterns. A happy discovery in the Wellcome bookshop.
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November 29, 2008! ! !
April 9, 2012
Very beautiful
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