Jarrod Pickens Chaos and the Logistic Map February 2001

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Chaos and Music

Chaos theory is used in a wide variety of fields for many different purposes. Economists use it to study the stock market. Physicists use it to describe various natural phenomenon. Chaos theory has even entered the average home. Washing machines are designed using chaos theory in order to provide a more thorough cleaning. I found the relationship between chaos theory and music to be particularly interesting.

Music is often studied scientifically, either mathematically or physically. In the 1970's, two scientists, Richard Voss and John Clarke from the University of California, discovered that music could be formed algorithmically. They found that different types of music followed the same pattern. This encouraged many musithe same pattern. This encouraged many musician and mathematicians to study this method of composing music. One such musician is a chemist named David Clark Little. One of his pieces, Fractal Piano 6 actually was based on the logistic equation. Another piece based on the logistic equation was Gary Lee Nelson's The Voyage of the Golah Iota. Nelson varied the growth parameter during the course of the piece in order to obtain different notes. Many other composers have used chaos theory to create musical pieces, or change others. For example, Bach's music has been varied using chaos, and listeners seem to like it just as much. Music based on chaos is becoming increasingly popular with the use of new software.

Does chaos actually provide any answers? Although music really does not involve any correct answers, the listeners of chaos or fractal music enjoy what they hear. Many classical and popular arrangements have been found to coincide with chaos. So perhaps chaos does have a place in music and is embedded in our lives more than previously imagined.

Sources

Elert, Glenn. "The Chaos Hypertextbook." www.hypertextbook.com/chaos

"Fractals, Chaos, and Music." www.rose-hulman.edu/~swickape/fmusic.html

Leung, Tac. "The Sound of Chaos." www.discovery.com/stories/technology/fractals/fractals.html

Litte, David Clark. "Composing with Chaos." sca.ahk.nl/david/COMPwCHAOS.html