Math | Sebastian Spicker

2025

2 articles

14 Oct 2025 A Gas at Temperature T: Xenakis and the Physics of Stochastic Music Iannis Xenakis used probability distributions, Markov processes, and game structures as compositional tools. Pithoprakta maps a Gaussian law derived from kinetic theory to glissando slopes; the orchestra is an analogy to a gas, not a thermodynamic system with measured temperature. musicphysicsxenakis
7 Apr 2025 The Oldest Algorithm in the World Plays the Clave Euclid’s algorithm for computing greatest common divisors, applied to the problem of distributing k drum beats as evenly as possible among n time slots, produces patterns that can be compared with timelines documented in several musical traditions. The mathematical similarity does not establish a shared origin, cultural equivalence or historical transmission. musicmathrhythm

2023

1 article

19 Apr 2023 The Charm of Impossibilities: Group Theory and Messiaen’s Modes of Limited Transposition Messiaen’s seven modes of limited transposition cannot be fully transposed through all twelve keys — not by convention, but because of group theory. The modes are pitch-class sets whose stabiliser subgroups in ℤ₁₂ are non-trivial. The orbit–stabiliser theorem gives the exact count of distinct transpositions for each mode. The subgroup lattice constrains the possible symmetry types; it does not select Messiaen’s seven scales. musicmathgroup-theory