Science / Music interactions

My transition from Physics to Systems Biology taught me how interesting the intermediate fields between traditional subjects can be. Of course, this also applies to the synergistic connections that can be established between Music and Science. Although my double major in these fields has been a continuous source of headaches, it also provided me with the tools that are required to deal with some of the most amazing questions I never encountered. Mainly, these questions are related to the exploration and transcription of the microtonal fluctuations of the singing voice within many musical traditions around the world, as the Spanish Flamenco or the classical Hindustani and Carnatic styles from India.

Here, you will find an introduction to our formal approach to this subject (with audible musical examples) as well as two unexpected applications of this work: the first is the construction of an interactive choir of singing stars from the data released by NASA's Kepler Mission; being the second the decoding of a precise microtonal score for the famous Tarzan Yell. I hope you enjoy them as I did!