Science and Music, An Interview with Ball in the House
Here is an interview with Ben Detty, (the bass singer in “Ball in the House”) about the many relationships between science and music. Music and science are linked to each other in more ways than you might think.. Music can be a cure sometimes that hospitals use, music is related to astronomy, and humans even have a specific organ designed to detect and understand sound. Well, you will learn of multiple relationships in this article. Down below is the interview with Ben Detty.
1.
Me: How do you think science and music are related?
Ben: There is a lot of science in music– frequencies of pitch and their relationships, the engineering that goes into sound equipment, the creation and improvement of instruments, acoustic design… there are so many avenues in which science can be expressed through music!
2.
Me: Do you use things like sound frequencies or sound waves when playing music?
Ben: Definitely! Our sound equipment, for example, scans for open frequencies that our wireless microphones and wireless in-ear monitors can use. The octave pedal that I use on my bass notes takes my voice and reduces the frequency by half, creating a lower octave. Frequency is intricately intertwined with the music we create!
3.
Me: Did you know that humans have organs specifically designed to detect and understand sound?
Ben: I always figured our eardrums were good for something!
Ben is absolutely right. According to kidshealth.org, “After sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and make their way to the middle ear. The middle ear’s main job is to take those sound waves and turn them into vibrations that are delivered to the inner ear. To do this, it needs the eardrum,which is a thin piece of skin stretched tight like a drum” (www.kidshealth.org). To learn more about how our ears help us to detect sound and music, click the previous link.
4.
Me: How do you think music is related to astronomy?
Ben: This is a little bit tricky. I suppose that the quest for human truth and understanding has driven the advancement of both subjects. Humans have turned to the stars and the skies and also to music in our learning for meaning and purpose.
You might wonder, how exactly is music related to astronomy? Well, according to galileo.ou.edu, “all of nature is a musical scale. Music illuminated the study of astronomy, while astronomy provided a context for understanding music. Only through mathematics may nature be known” (www.galileo.ou.edu).
5.
Me: How do you think music is related to geometry?
Ben: Geometry can be extremely helpful for helping to visualize musical concepts– the circle of fifths, for example.
According to the text, “In music theory, the circle of fifths (or circle of fourths) is the relationship among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys. More specifically, it is a geometrical representation of relationships among the 12 pitch classes of the chromatic scale in pitch class space” (www.wikipedia.org).
6.
Me: Did you know that in learning music that we learn more about ourselves?
Ben: Of course! When we express ourselves through music, we explore ideas and emotions and the effects that those have on us.
7.
Me: What have you learned about yourself through music?
Ben: I think that more than anything, music has helped me to figure out what ideas and feelings move me. There’s a certain self-discovery that occurs when you’re singing or playing a song, and you find yourself crying for joy or happiness; or feeling anger or jealousy or sadness on behalf of the song’s narrator. Music in that way can be such a great model for empathy. When you put yourself in the shoes of the writer or composer and really express the feelings that they’ve put into their music, it pushes you to relate to experiences outside of your own immediate circumstances.
8.
Me: Have you ever found music to be a treatment to any sicknesses you have had or has it ever changed your emotions?
Ben: I have not personally experienced music as a medical treatment, but I understand several hospitals employ “medical musicians,” since music has been shown to aid in healing and recovery. Really cool! And of course on an emotional level, there are songs that I love to listen to when I’m sad or angry or happy to help me process those feelings and return to a more balanced emotional state.
9.
Me: Did you know that a moderate volume for music can improve creativity?
Ben: I did not! It makes sense, though– just enough music to get the brain going, not enough to be distracting.
10.
Me: What relationships have you discovered between science and music in your career?
Ben: Beyond some of the earlier-mentioned technical ties between science and music in Ball in the House, I think the biggest thing on a personal level is that both science and music have been such wonderful avenues for me to express myself and the creative side of my brain. Studying chemistry in college allowed me to dive into chemical reactions and their mechanisms, and to search for explanations for why certain molecules behave the way they do. Singing in college and in Ball in the House allowed me to dive into harmonies and their interactions, into how chords in all their various forms combine and resolve to create the feeling of a song. The outcomes may be very different, but they both allow me to apply my talents and discover new things about the world and myself!
As you can see, science and music have multiple relationships. We have learned more about music through science; and more about science through music. I think that music and science have a strong connection and I think that without us using science in music, music would just be a noise. By a “noise” I mean that it would not fit together as well as it does today and it would be random notes that just makes a really painful noise that would make us want to destroy the machine that is making the music. So here, we have yet another relationship involving science. If you have questions for Ben, just email him at [email protected].