The Longest Piece of Music

@handyandy said
If it corresponds to pi (3.14159...) the digits never end. Hence, a repeat sign is pointless.

Err....that was sort of the point.

If we extended the piano keyboard to 99 notes, the first two numbers in every 5 digit sequence would give you pitch. The second three would give you the duration in hemi-demi-semi quavers. 999 would imply a duration of 15 crochets.

Would that ensure every basic melody ever written would be played at some time?

If so, couldn’t all harmonies, dynamics, instrumentation etc simply be a process of evolution of the same method?

@rank-outsider said
If we extended the piano keyboard to 99 notes, the first two numbers in every 5 digit sequence would give you pitch. The second three would give you the duration in hemi-demi-semi quavers. 999 would imply a duration of 15 crochets.

Would that ensure every basic melody ever written would be played at some time?

If so, couldn’t all harmonies, dynamics, instrumentation etc simply be a process of evolution of the same method?

Our endless friend pi is composed of ten different digits, 0 to 9. Consequently, only ten different musical tones are available.

As you know, the chromatic scale contains twelve tones, each a semitone above or below its adjacent tone. That leaves two orphan tones not represented by one of pi's digits.

Some melodies could be played, but not all of them.

@handyandy said
Our endless friend pi is composed of ten different digits, 0 to 9. Consequently, only ten different musical tones are available.

As you know, the chromatic scale contains twelve tones, each a semitone above or below its adjacent tone. That leaves two orphan tones not represented by one of pi's digits.

Some melodies could be played, but not all of them.

You are assuming that pi is written in decimal.
Use base 12 and you have your 12 notes.
Use base 48 and spread across 4 octaves.
Et cetera, et cetera ....

@rank-outsider said
If we extended the piano keyboard to 99 notes, the first two numbers in every 5 digit sequence would give you pitch. The second three would give you the duration in hemi-demi-semi quavers. 999 would imply a duration of 15 crochets.

Would that ensure every basic melody ever written would be played at some time?

If so, couldn’t all harmonies, dynamics, instrumentation etc simply be a process of evolution of the same method?

Surely music is analogue and cannot be exactly reduced to numbers?

@handyandy said
Our endless friend pi is composed of ten different digits, 0 to 9. Consequently, only ten different musical tones are available.

Maybe I didn't explain myself so well.

If you split up Pi into blocks of more than one digit, you can cover every note on the standard piano.

So, under my suggestion Middle C would be assigned the number, say, 50, C sharp 51, B natural 49 etc. but extending the keyboard a bit longer than standard.

So,

3.14159265359

Would become

31415 (for note one)

92653 (for note two)

31 would be the note to be played on the piano, for a duration of 415 hemi-demi-semiquavers (6.5 crochets).

The question is, would this mean that, eventually, every simple melody ever written would be played?

@wolfgang59 said
Surely music is analogue and cannot be exactly reduced to numbers?

Not sure I know what you mean. I think my Iphone does a pretty good job of this....

It's a piece for organ by John Cage, likely a response to his 4"33". It's called ASLSP (as slow as possible). A performance of it is taking place right now in Germany, begun in 2001, and it won't be completed for 639 years, until the year 2640.

@rank-outsider said
Maybe I didn't explain myself so well.

If you split up Pi into blocks of more than one digit, you can cover every note on the standard piano.

So, under my suggestion Middle C would be assigned the number, say, 50, C sharp 51, B natural 49 etc. but extending the keyboard a bit longer than standard.

So,

3.14159265359

Would become

31415 (for note one)
...[text shortened]... The question is, would this mean that, eventually, every simple melody ever written would be played?

Your original proviso ["each number is assigned a different note on the piano"] is what lead us down the wrong trail. Instead of "each number" it should be "each group of five digits."

In that case it seems likely that all simple melodies could be played.

@attilathehorn said
It's a piece for organ by John Cage, likely a response to his 4"33". It's called ASLSP (as slow as possible). A performance of it is taking place right now in Germany, begun in 2001, and it won't be completed for 639 years, until the year 2640.

At last I caught someone!
This would have been my answer up until a few weeks ago.
Until I cam across this:-

Not content with being relegated to the history books, London’s only
lighthouse is now home to Longplayer, a continuous 1,000 year long
piece of music. Initially switched on for the millennium celebrations,
the music will run uninterrupted until midnight on the 31st December 2999.
There’s a listening room in the lighthouse itself, or you can listen to the live stream
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Londons-Only-Lighthouse/

A 1,000 year long piece of music!

@rank-outsider said
Not sure I know what you mean. I think my Iphone does a pretty good job of this....

I'm assuming that there are an infinite number of frequencies between say B and C.
But I'm not sure that is true, in fact I think it false (Planck length et c.)

@wolfgang59 said
I'm assuming that there are an infinite number of frequencies between say B and C.
But I'm not sure that is true, in fact I think it false (Planck length et c.)

You stipulated the piece could be composed, not just had to be being performed.

I just composed one which is infinitely longer than yours and never repeats.

I may not be entering into the spirit of the question....

@rank-outsider said
You stipulated the piece could be composed, not just had to be being performed.

I just composed one which is infinitely longer than yours and never repeats.

I may not be entering into the spirit of the question....

The "spirit of the question" was to have a light-hearted chat about
something inconsequential which I stumbled across. Your admirable
contributions are completely in keeping with that. Thank you.