Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 25, 2022 · 11 MIN

Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences

from More or Less · host BBC Radio 4

After beating a plagiarism claim in court, musician Ed Sheeran said that musical coincidences were inevitable with only 12 notes to choose from… but what do the numbers say? Mathematician and concert pianist Eugenia Cheng takes us through the mathematics of music and explains how the power of exponentials mean that just a handful of notes can open up a seemingly endless world of musical variety. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Programme Coordinator: Janet Staples Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 25, 2022

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Ed Sheeran and the mathematics of musical coincidences

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