"Improvisation is a characteristic of both music and physics."

February 29, 2020 8:51 AM

The secret link between jazz and physics: How Einstein & Coltrane shared improvisation and intuition in common.

...the brilliant saxophonist once delivered to French horn player David Amram an “incredible discourse about the symmetry of the solar system, talking about black holes in space, and constellations, and the whole structure of the solar system, and how Einstein was able to reduce all of that complexity into something very simple.” Says Amram:

"Then he explained to me that he was trying to do something like that in music, something that came from natural sources, the traditions of the blues and jazz. But there was a whole different way of looking at what was natural in music."

See also: John Coltrane Draws a Picture Illustrating the Mathematics of Music | John Coltrane Draws a Mysterious Diagram Illustrating the Mathematical & Mystical Qualities of Music

posted by youarenothere (6 comments total)

John Coltrane's Discovery of a Music of the Spheres.
posted by No Robots at 10:09 AM on February 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

The story goes that, on the last tour that Coltrane did in Miles Davis' band (the one documented here), Davis was criticizing Coltrane for playing too long in his solos. Coltrane explained that, since his analytical systems yielded so many harmonic possibilities to explore, he did not know how to stop, and the bandleader retorted, "You take the horn out of your mouth".
posted by thelonius at 10:37 AM on February 29, 2020 [10 favorites]

Excess Noodling For Science: The John Coltrane Story
posted by grumpybear69 at 12:54 PM on February 29, 2020

My father gave me this for Christmas a few years ago. It was a good try! I do love me my physics and music. But it has sat on my night stand mostly untouched. I was skeptical, suspecting the connection is shallow. It starts with Coltrane's circle. Does anyone recommend I pick it back up?

The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe
posted by hypnogogue at 2:30 PM on February 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

I haven't read it, but the author and his analysis of Coltrane--and how physics and music are linked more broadly--is the meat of the first link in the FFP; you might see if his thoughts grasp you in the videos linked in the article before diving into the book.
posted by youarenothere at 3:01 PM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've been trying to understand "Giant Steps" for a long time. Two decades before the internet, two after. Still, I'm a beginner. (I can't say this thread helps a lot.) Usually, keeping the home key in mind throughout the modulations is important, but it's hard with this piece. Still, every bit helps. I'm not dead yet.
posted by kozad at 7:04 PM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]