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Could we ever run out of new songs?

Imagine a tiny musical universe: just three notes and four positions. It already contains 81 possible note sequences. Add more notes, different rhythms, or longer phrases, and the count grows quickly. Yet a new sequence of symbols is not necessarily a new musical idea, and familiar ingredients can still sound different in a new arrangement.

4–6 min

Questions you could explore

  • What should count as the same song: its notes, rhythm, or the way listeners recognize it?

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Why do a flute and a violin sound different on the same note?

Music and sound4–5 minTwo instruments can play the same pitch without sounding alike. The balance of frequencies and the way a note begins help create its timbre, so one number does not describe the whole sound.

Music and sound

Who performs the footsteps you hear in a film?

Some screen sounds are performed again during post-production to fit the picture. Foley combines a choice of sound with a choice of timing, so the most useful prop need not be the object shown on screen.

5–7 min

Who performs the footsteps you hear in a film?

Music and sound5–7 minSome screen sounds are performed again during post-production to fit the picture. Foley combines a choice of sound with a choice of timing, so the most useful prop need not be the object shown on screen.

Music and sound

Why can six eighth notes have two different beats?

Six equal subdivisions can be grouped as three pairs or two groups of three. In conventional Western notation, that helps explain the different organization of 3/4 and 6/8 even when the total note value matches.

3–5 min

Why can six eighth notes have two different beats?

Music and sound3–5 minSix equal subdivisions can be grouped as three pairs or two groups of three. In conventional Western notation, that helps explain the different organization of 3/4 and 6/8 even when the total note value matches.

Could we ever run out of new songs? | Speech Topic | speaking.app