A Perfect Harmony: Music, Mathematics and Science

by David Darling

Overview

A melodic odyssey through the interwoven worlds of music, physics and mathematics

From the earliest of civilisations, humans have found ways to make music, whether through makeshift drums or artfully drilled bone flutes. But how did music – effectively little more than a series of certain tones and rhythms – become so integral to the human experience?

Untangling the curious links between notes and number, musical perception, psychology and physics, David Darling examines the fascinating science behind music, from its Palaeolithic origins to the present.

Revealing surprising connections and busting pervasive myths, A Perfect Harmony asks:

• Why do musicians tend to be better at maths than non-musicians?
• Why do we find some pieces sad and others happy?
• Will playing Mozart to babies predispose them to genius?
• Could an AI write the perfect symphony?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861549856
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David Darling is a science writer, astronomer and music producer. He is the author of nearly fifty books, including the bestselling Equations of Eternity. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.

Together with Agnijo Banerjee, he is the co-author of the Weird Maths trilogy, and The Biggest Number in the World.

Editorial Reviews

'Darling is one of Britain’s finest maths writers, [and shows] how inextricably numbers are intertwined with artistic creativity... fascinating.' —Financial Times

'It comes as no surprise that many scientists were also musicians. A Perfect Harmony serves to solidify just how interlinked the fields are... Darling’s observant musical odyssey across time reinforces that “music and maths are endlessly entwined... nourishing one another” and have done so for millennia. After all, at its simplest music is melody and rhythm, and rhythm cannot exist without maths.' —New Statesman

'Darling is not only a talented science writer with an expansive back-catalogue to his name but he is also an accomplished musician, and his enthusiasm for all things musical spills off the page... if there’s a writer who can genuinely and credibly inhabit both sides of the arts–science cultural divide, it’s Darling... Engaging and entertaining.' —Physics World

From the Publisher

2025-05-27
The universal languages of math and music.

Darling (Equations of Eternity, 1993) tackles the history of music through a scientific lens in his latest book, which he says “explores how something that, ultimately, can be reduced to mere equations and wave patterns conspires to have such a powerful emotional impact upon us.” He begins with a look at the Divje Babe flute, possibly “the world’s oldest surviving musical instrument,” found in a Slovenian cave in 1995. This kicks off a discussion of how music began. “Did language or music come first, or did they develop together?” he asks, noting that a recent theory suggests “that language evolved as a subset of music.” Further chapters cover the concepts of harmony, scales, and musical notation and the efforts of musicians such as Henry Cowell and Brian Eno to challenge prevailing musical convention. An especially fascinating section looks at the introduction of electricity to musical performance, which may have begun in 1748 with the “clavichord-like” Denis d’or. (Or maybe not. As Darling writes, “In fact, it seems far more likely, if the strings were electrified at all, that the intent was to spring a practical joke on the unsuspecting player rather than enhance the quality of sound.”) The author examines musical dissonance and its “sense of tension” (exploring theme tunes ofJaws andWest Side Story), while a chapter about music and the brain cites musicians who continued to perform after being diagnosed with dementia. This is a wide-ranging book; its breadth of subjects alone proves Darling’s assertion that “music is part of the fabric of reality, an inherent component of the world around us.” Readers without a background in advanced mathematics might struggle to understand a few parts, but this is a mostly accessible—and quite interesting—work of science and history.

A genially written book that will appeal to general readers with an ear for music.

Kirkus Reviews