The Physics of Music:
Tonality and the Electric Guitar
Jason Anderson
Many modern technologies—such as audio recording, radio broadcasting, portable MP3 players, and the internet—have shifted music from being a spectacle enjoyed by the few to becoming a backdrop for everyday life. Along with these changes, the style of music has gone from grandiose Beethoven symphonies to three-minute pop hits. However, despite their ostensible differences, these forms of music use the same general building blocks of composition, which are referred to as Western tonality. My talk will first address the physics behind tonality to explain why certain sounds are more musical than others. Then I will explain how the electric guitar works and its importance to the development of modern music.