Science and jazz music aren’t typically thought of as two peas in a pod, but the two worlds overlap more than you think.
There’s plenty of scientific research on music – like how certain chords are favoured over others in some cultures and why people might prefer death metal over pop music.
A recent research project on arguably one of the most complex music genres – jazz – has unlocked some answers as to why it sounds and feels so different to other types of music.
Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Evrim Yazgin about the science of jazz and take a closer and more scientific look at one of the genre’s defining features – swing.
Groovy jazz science shows downbeat delay is the king of swing
Originally published by Cosmos as Jazz! Is there a science to music?
Sophie Calabretto
Dr Sophie Calabretto is a mathematician specialising in fluid mechanics. She is Honorary Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University and Honorary Associate Professor, at the ACE Research Group, University of Leicester.
Evrim Yazgin
Evrim Yazgin has a Bachelor of Science majoring in mathematical physics and a Master of Science in physics, both from the University of Melbourne.
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