College Honors Program

Limitation and Creativity: A Rock Album Inspired by Mathematical Constraints

Date of Creation

5-31-2023

Document Type

Campus Access Only

Department

Music

First Advisor

Mathew Jaskot

Abstract

A constraint on a system by definition bounds its set of possible outcomes. Paradoxically, limitations appear to propel creativity, complexity, and beauty. My thesis is a rock album exploring these themes titled Turtles All the Way Down. The album includes reference to mathematical concepts such as infinite regress, the Fibonacci Sequence, and Stephen Wolfram’s Cellular Automaton “Rule 30”. The music is subject to corresponding constraints in rhythm, pitch, and other musical parameters. Over the last year I wrote all of the lyrics and music and have collaborated with many vocalists and instrumentalists to record the album in the studio in the Prior Performing Arts Center.

Comments

Reader: Gareth Roberts

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