Mathematics and flamenco: an unexpected partnership (Q1684350)

In this article, the author studies the answers to six problems. The answers to these problems allow him to draw important conclusions to some relevant questions related to different patterns of flamenco music. The first three problems come from geometry and combinatorics and are applied to the study of different patterns of \textbf{rhythm} represented as a polygon inscribed in a circle. Some of the musical properties of the rhythm can be related to the properties of this polygon, [\textit{G. T. Toussaint}, The geometry of musical rhythm. What makes a ``good'' rhythm good? Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press (2013; Zbl 1275.00024)]. Problem 2 (Inscribed polygon of maximum area): Consider a circle with \(n\)-points located evenly around its circunference. How should \(k<n\) of the points be selected in such a way that the polygon whose vertices are the \(k\) points will have maximum area of all such possible \(k\)-gons? Problem 1 (Inscribed pentagon of maximum regularity) is actually the special case of problem 1 when \(k=5\) and \(n=12\),. This is the most usual case in western music, as one can see in the previously mentioned book by Toussaint, and is the case in the flamenco rhythms studied in this paper. The maximum area defined by the polygon that represents the rhythm is important to obtain a `good'' rhythm. The maximum area considered before is related to the minimum area defined by the ``rests''. Let us call \textit{ear} to the area of the new polygon defined by one side of the polygon \(P_r\) associated with the rhythm, defined by vertices \(v_1\) and \(v_2\), and the part of the \(n\) -gon that include all vertices from the \(n\)-polygon between the two consecutive \(v_1\) and \(v_2\), that are not in \(P_r\) . The maximum area of the \(k\)-gon is equivalent to the minimum area of the sum of the \textit{ears}. Problem 3: (Largest minimum rest) Consider a circle with \(n\)-points dispersed evenly around its circunference. How can \(k<n\) of these points be chosen so that the polygon drawn on these \(k\) vertices minimizes the area of the largest ear from among all possible choices of \(k\) points? The author gives examples on how these three problems help compare the different rhythms and even to establish some hypothesis off interpretations in ethnomusicology. It is possible to have other types of representations of rhythms. Problem 4 studies the definitions of a distance that allows to compare rhythms in a chronotonic form. (Calculating the permutation distance). Consider two binary strings with the same number of ones. Design a procedure to calculate a permutation distance between them efficiently. The second part of this article deals with \textbf{melody}. The author considers the audio representation of the melody and approximates this function by step functions. He is interested in study the possibility of comparing these step functions. This is done using the conclusions drawn from the following two problems: Problem 5 (Similarity between step functions) How can one design a measure of the distance between two step functions? Problem 6 (Approximation by a step function) Given a set of points \(P={p_1,p_2,\dots,p_n}\) on the plane and an error value \(\alpha >0\), construct a step function \(E\) that approximates \(P\) with error defined by max \(|f(x_i)-y_i|\) no greater than \(\alpha\), using the minimum of horizontal segments. In the final observations the author calls the reader's attention to the possibility of the use of these problems in teaching at high school level or in university courses (dynamic programming for example) as well as research and gives some ideas of possible paths to follow. A list of other problems in music technology that require further scientific research is also included.