Pythagoras believed that music originates in nature and that natural harmonies express very distinct mathematical relationships between their notes. From Pythagoras’ first scales and the advent of harmony to the standardization of all instruments to equal temperament, this program traces the evolution of the system of tuning that revolutionized Western music. Few musical cultures have escaped its influence, and without it, much of the world’s most beautiful music could not exist. (51 minutes)

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Part of the Series : Howard Goodall's Big Bangs: Turning Points in Music History

DVD	$169.95
DVD + 3-Year Streaming	$254.93
3-Year Streaming	$169.95

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		What Is Music? Whenever the pressure of air is changed rapidly-by the beating of a drum, rattling a stick in a can, plucking a string stretched across a box-the ear-brain system detects the pressure changes as sound, which travels from source to listener as sound w...(more details)		DVD $99.95 DVD + 3-Year Streaming $149.93 3-Year Streaming $99.95
		The Birth and Life of Opera Opera is unique among musical forms in that it developed over a relatively short period of time, unlike the concerto or symphony. From the birth of opera in Florence with the Camerata to the genius of Monteverdi and beyond, this program looks at how ...(more details)		DVD $169.95 DVD + 3-Year Streaming $254.93 3-Year Streaming $169.95
		Notation: The Thin Red Line Early musical notation was much like a road map that lacked names or places. The use of neumes gave the basic shape of the tune and a primitive notion of rhythm, but could not tell the performer what note to start on. This program shows how all of th...(more details)		DVD $169.95 DVD + 3-Year Streaming $254.93 3-Year Streaming $169.95
		The Roots of 20th-Century Music: Dancing on a Volcano This program describes a great musical culture in decline in turn-of-the-century Vienna, and discusses how that decline led to the musical revolution whose reverberations are still felt today. Names like Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg still strike terr...(more details)		DVD $169.95 DVD + 3-Year Streaming $254.93 3-Year Streaming $169.95
		Recorded Sound: The Dream Becomes a Reality For centuries people dreamed of being able to record and play back sound. In 1877 Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and the whole course of music was forever changed. From the jukeboxes of the 1880s to contemporary composers blending live and rec...(more details)		DVD $169.95 DVD + 3-Year Streaming $254.93 3-Year Streaming $169.95

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