Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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The IMA is glad to launch a conference on “Mathematics in Music”, to be announced to take place in 2022 at the Royal College of Music. In view of this event, a series of individual seminars on this fascinating and rich field of research, held by mathematicians, musicians and composers, is expected to take place between 2020 and 2022.

Keynote Talk – Robin Wilson (The Open University) For this introductory seminar we are delighted that the keynote presentation will be given by Robin Wilson (The Open University). The title of the talk is ‘Introduction: YEA, WHY TRY HER RAW WET HAT.’ The abstract is below:

This introductory seminar is in two parts. The first part illustrates the basic ideas of rhythm, pitch and harmony from a historical point of view, leading to ideas of tuning and temperament and microtonal music. The second part illustrates geometrical structure in music, starting with rounds and canons and leading to various types of symmetry, such as reflections, inversions, and rotations and combinations of these. Finally I shall present some mathematical devices that recent composers have used to derive sound patterns for their compositions.