Pythagoras has influenced Western music for millennia Bilwissedition Ltd/Alamy
An ancient Greek belief about the most pleasing combinations of musical notes 鈥 often attributed to the philosopher Pythagoras – doesn鈥檛 actually reflect the way people around the world appreciate harmony, researchers have found. Instead, Pythagoras鈥檚 mathematical arguments may merely have been taken as fact and used to assert the superiority of Western culture.
According to legend, Pythagoras found that the ringing sounds of a blacksmith鈥檚 hammers sounded most pleasant, or 鈥渃onsonant鈥, when the ratio between the…
