arXiv · 2506.17778
Algebraic Structures in Microtonal Music
Abstract
We will discuss how certain group theory structures are found in music theory. Western music splits the octave into 12 equal tones called half-steps. We can take this division further and split the octave into 24 equal tones by splitting each half-step in two, called a quarter-step. By assigning each of these 24 notes a number, we can discuss musical actions mathematically. In this paper, we analyze 24-tone microtonal music and explore how musical and harmonic structures in this system can be interpreted in terms of group-theoretic structures. This work extends the study by Crans, Fiore, and Satyendra.
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Veronica Flynn, Carmen Rovi. 2025-06-21. Algebraic Structures in Microtonal Music. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.17778
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