The Physics of Music: Fourier Transforms and Musical Chord Identification

Mathematically speaking, a musical chord is hardly any different from the wide variety of signals we come across in mathematics and physics. A musical chord provides a signal consisting of various frequencies, or musical notes... [ view full abstract ]

Mathematically speaking, a musical chord is hardly any different from the wide variety of signals we come across in mathematics and physics. A musical chord provides a signal consisting of various frequencies, or musical notes and their overtones. Fourier transforms allow us to decompose this signal into its constituent frequencies. Presented in detail is the development of a software package which decomposes sections of music and accurately determines the progression of notes and chords throughout the piece.