Systemic Abstractions

Martin Knakkergaard discusses how numbers have had decisive consequences for the development of a tone system of fixed pitch intervals and proportions in general in Western music. Knakkergaard takes as his point of departure considerations regarding the Ancient Greek’s mystical fascination with the number four, aiming to show how this preoccupation can be seen as the primary factor behind the limitations and restricted principles implied in Western music culture and practice throughout European history. Thus, the implied number is regarded as a dominating factor that guides, regulates, and controls human imagination and expectation toward musical artifacts—today maybe even more than ever before.