Mmmm Pi
Happy pi day everyone! For those
not mathematically inclined, 3/14 is a day celebrated each year
to celebrate the wonder that is pi. This year we present to you
a short composition based on the digits of pi.
This is a brilliant and beautiful in-
terpretation of the first few dozen
digits but fails to capture the full
power of pi. Pi, you see, is tranc-
endental. That means, in short,
that it is non re- peating and non
terminating. A consequence of
that fact is that it contains every
finite series there is. Contained in
the near random infinite sequence
that is pi, is every song every written;
Beethoven’s 9th, Hey Jude and Sexy
Back are all there. Concealed in
pi is the sequence of art.
I challenge our audience to name every instrument appearing in the video.
This song was created by Micheal John Blake. I suspect that this little wonder will quickly become a geek favourite around this time each year. Apparently it’s gotten enough attention that the composer will be appearing on NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday(Which I understand is the natural alternative to sleeping pills for Americans).
Note: This was posted at 1:59
Piano, glockenspiel (or just a generic metallophone, can’t tell), accordion, toy piano, melodica (a.k.a. hooter), bowed psaltery, ukulele, claves, handclaps, banjo, autoharp, and of course a guitar.
BEAUTIFUL…. : )
Really, really great.
Not appearing visually, but aurally (if that even counts): Hi hat loop, electro drum kit, and bass.
video embed didn’t work for me. This one did though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOjsRyxL7Rs
Well that’s odd. How, praytell, can someone have copyrighted pi?
Well I appologize to our viewers for the interruption in service.
Please enjoy some pie while we attempt to solve this issue.
perhaps we could stare at a circle while listening . . . hopefully THAT hasn’t been copyrighted lately ;-p
Apparently Lars Erickson, who’s making the copyright claim, wrote a piece called the “Pi Symphony” that’s based on the same idea of using Pi to generate the music.
http://www.pisymphony.com/
He’s charging $15 to hear a synthesized version of it. I think I’ll pass.
This is kind of off-topic, but can the idea of using Pi as a basis for music really be copyrightable? I guess if they both end up with the same chords and melody then maybe. Still kind of a dick move.
Shouldn’t we call July 22 Pi day as it is a slightly closer approximation? 22/7 = 3.14285…
If the two songs ended up being similar in the arrangement of timing and instruments I suppose I could see the argument. But I somehow doubt that anyone could copyright the use of a mathematical constant for musical purposes.
That doesn’t stop anyone from making the claim, though, and YouTube seems keen to err on the side of caution whenever formal complaints are made.
Also, March 3rd at 1:59:26 is a closer approximation than 22/7. However I say go nuts and eat some tarts in August. They’re an approximation of pie. 😀
Sorry. I’ve decided to abandon pi and go with tau: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7vhMMXagQ