What Phi (the golden ratio) Sounds Like





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Published on Jun 15, 2012

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Phi = φ = 1.61803398874989484820458683436563811772...

"What Phi (the golden ratio) Sounds Like" is a musical interpretation of the mathematical constant Phi. The formula I use to translate the digits of Phi into music is as follows:

1 = C
2 = D
3 = E
4 = F
5 = G
6 = A
7 = B
8 = C octave
9 = D octave
0 = no note is played

See my Pi and Tau videos for more explanation:


Phi represents the golden ratio which has been used by artists, musicians and architects throughout history for it's aesthetically pleasing properties, and is seen to occur in nature in many forms. It is even used for trading algorithms and strategies in the financial market.

Here are a few examples:


-Composers Bartok, Satie, and Debussy amongst others have used the golden ratio in their various musical pieces.


-Salvadore Dali's used the golden ratio in his masterpiece, "The Sacrament of the Last Supper", down to the dimensions of the canvas.


-The Parthenon in Greece is said to exhibit golden rectangles.
-Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has dimensions based on the Golden Ratio


-The branching of veins and nerves, the proportions of chemical compounds, geometry of crystals, veins in leaves, flowers, shells, weather systems, the rings of Saturn, the clock cycle of brain waves in the human body, the magnetic resonance of spins in cobalt niobate crystals at the atomic level, and human genome DNA


-Seen in pentagrams, triangles, polyhedra, graveyard crosses, violins, postcards, and widescreen televisions.

Music by Michael John Blake
Video by Amos John Lanka (http://www.amoslanka.com)


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