What Tau Sounds Like
If that title sounds or looks familiar, then it is probably because we had a similar post earlier this year, courtesy of Robin. Around the time we celebrated Pi Day (I am assuming you guys ate your fair share of pie in March), musician Michael John Blake released his interpretation of what pi sounds like musically.
Now we all have heard or read the side of Michael Hartl, the brains behind the Tau Manifesto. Just the other day, people subscribing to the superiority of the constant tau celebrated Tau Day. In spite of the fact that I hold Pi Day in high regard, as I said in my post, I just can’t help but like the idea of celebrating Tau Day with two pies (τ=2π)!
Anyhow, Michael John Blake has done it again. Using his initial piece of work, The Sound of Pi, as a basis, he has created new music – his idea of what tau sounds like. “What Tau Sounds Like” – or the sound of tau – has been making the rounds, and its creation is based on the first 126 digits of the constant. (That’s 6.28… instead of 3.14, yes?)
The “rules” are the same – you get a quick orientation at the start of the video. Blake assigns notes to the numbers and plays those notes (with some musical tweaking, of course) at 125.6 beats per minute. And just like with the previous video, he also uses various instruments to create the final piece of work for the sound of tau. The result? Something very pleasant to listen to. Watch the video below and let me know what you think.
I am not sure, but I think I like the sound of tau more than the sound of pi – musically, that is. The sucky thing is that I can’t remember the sound of pi much and the original video has been taken down by YouTube due to a copyright complaint raised by Lars Erickson. Blake sheds some light on this in another video. (You can find tons of offshoot videos on the sound of pi on YouTube, though.)
What do you think about the sound of tau? If you like this music, you can purchase it for $0.99.
What I am wondering about right now is which constant Blake leans toward.