Why Möbius Strips Make Better Pianos

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  • Опубліковано 9 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 319

  • @ElliottA7
    @ElliottA7 Рік тому +997

    Bruh. You basically created a new instrument and used it to teach people about math and physics. You are definitely royalty among nerds.

  • @biggiecheez6879
    @biggiecheez6879 Рік тому +967

    I refuse to believe that was 10 minutes long. Pls keep making videos they are consistently great

  • @Sneeek
    @Sneeek Рік тому +182

    The clair de lune version in the end was kinda cute

  • @schmidtyyy2026
    @schmidtyyy2026 Рік тому +631

    As a music major and science nerd, this absolutely fascinates me. Thank you so much!

    • @dr.argolo
      @dr.argolo Рік тому +26

      As a science major and music nerd, this absolutely fascinates me. Thank you so much!

    • @nuberiffic
      @nuberiffic Рік тому +5

      As a professional musician and music teacher, as well as science nerd, I don't see the point of this.

    • @troliskimosko
      @troliskimosko Рік тому

      @@nuberifficIf your intention was to see a use for it, then you missed the point

    • @nuberiffic
      @nuberiffic Рік тому

      @@troliskimosko ...no.
      That's literally the entire point of the video.
      That's why the first word of the title of the video is "why".
      He's (at least he thinks he is) presenting reasons why pianos should be made out of mobius strips.

    • @troliskimosko
      @troliskimosko Рік тому +5

      @@nuberiffic I’m seriously doubting you watched the entire video if your takeaway was that he thought it would actually be more practical to make pianos out of mobius strips. He merely presented some interesting overlapping convenience that would arise from a design like this, but not making an actual case for why this would be more practical than a keyboard.

  • @microwave221
    @microwave221 Рік тому +486

    I wonder if there would be a good way to see if songs tend to "orbit" points of stability and instability on such a layout. Always cool to see patterns displayed differently

    • @SomeOne-px4up
      @SomeOne-px4up Рік тому +13

      im no science nerd so take my opinion with grain of salt. but i do know music, and if there was a "point of stability" i'd probably be either the tonic (in c maj that'd be C) or the dominant (in c maj thats G) points on instability would be the leading tone (which would be B in c maj) but it would probably depend more on the type of music, the mode and the music itself. hope i helped :)

  • @gillfortytwo
    @gillfortytwo Рік тому +183

    I found your channel when you submitted your first video to SoME2, and have been following ever since. You've become one of my favorite channels on this whole platform. Your presentation style is so personable and charming, the topics are thought provoking yet familiar, and I always feel like I've learned something new. Thank you for making such good videos, and please keep at it.

  • @silverspuppet
    @silverspuppet Рік тому +140

    When I showed my acquaintances a mobius strip, they didn’t react at all. But when he does it it’s cool?! This is not fair T-T

    • @Dolphindan
      @Dolphindan Рік тому +14

      I like to think they were ranked as friends previous to this but you decided to demote them to acquaintances after this

    • @H0mework
      @H0mework Рік тому +3

      Can your Mobius strip play piano?

    • @silverspuppet
      @silverspuppet Рік тому

      I am not sure, let me try@@H0mework

  • @tverdyznaqs
    @tverdyznaqs Рік тому +857

    Wait does this mean it's possible to map all 3-note chords on to a Klein bottle??? Theoretically I mean

    • @physicsforthebirds
      @physicsforthebirds  Рік тому +496

      Almost! 3-note chords would take place take place in a 3D space with similar boundary conditions to a mobius strip, so the surface of a Klein bottle wouldn't be enough degrees of freedom. You would need to move your hand through a third dimension to play an instrument like that (maybe you could figure out a way to make it with VR). I think Tymoczko's paper describes what this space looks like if you're interested.

    • @Isaac-zy5do
      @Isaac-zy5do Рік тому +52

      Maybe some kind of theremin-style instrument?

    • @chalkchalkson5639
      @chalkchalkson5639 Рік тому +26

      @@Isaac-zy5do The embedding space you need probably has a few more than 3 dimensions

    • @adrien5568
      @adrien5568 Рік тому +8

      I did not study topology but I think it is a Haken manifold : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haken_manifold

    • @johnwolfenden7599
      @johnwolfenden7599 Рік тому +9

      Klein theramin

  • @prarobinson
    @prarobinson Рік тому +46

    Mind blown. I came here for the music theory, but also just happen to work on a robotic arm! Did not expect configuration space to crop up here, but it totally makes sense.

  • @jjohn1234
    @jjohn1234 Рік тому +48

    You can use hairless midi to convert bytes from arduino into actual midi messages. Then you can use loopMidi to create a simple midi channel for DAWs to read. I used this to make a capacitive plant instrument, using VCV Rack 2 with modular synthesis

    • @physicsforthebirds
      @physicsforthebirds  Рік тому +13

      Ooh I hadn't heard of hairless until now. I'll have to play with that!

  • @ArtamisBot
    @ArtamisBot Рік тому +79

    It was very interesting to see the music theory behind that piece represented in a 2d space like that. It would be cool to see other works analyzed in that same way or in a 3d space for triads.
    The visuals were definitely really awesome, and I bet a repeated tiling would look cool too.

  • @Asterism_Desmos
    @Asterism_Desmos Рік тому +98

    Yay! Another physics for the birds video! :D

  • @aliased_aryl
    @aliased_aryl Рік тому +9

    This is incredible. While the concepts aren’t immediately intuitive, the way you explain and animate them in the video is so clear

  • @Nzargnalphabet
    @Nzargnalphabet Рік тому +3

    n(n+1)/2 is my favorite function ever, because it’s the first function I ever found naturally, nCr is mostly just a continuation of its concepts, but a regular use of it gets an automatic like

  • @archivethearchives
    @archivethearchives Рік тому +10

    One of those videos where the quality of execution and novelty makes me feel almost emotional. 😳 It is amazing seeing such an innovative video that covers a multitude of things I love learning about. Also Clair de Lune is one of my favorite piano pieces ever. Easily one of the top ten videos I have seen this year on UA-cam. Great!! You are a modern day Renaissance bird!

  • @Cametek.CamelliaOfficial
    @Cametek.CamelliaOfficial Рік тому +5

    It means now we need to build a real Klein bottle to play triads now

  • @aceblade10
    @aceblade10 Рік тому +58

    I've always been a fan of your music in the videos, but this Claire de Lune variation of your ending is something special imo. The message I've always gotten from the ending theme is that sometimes things seem random and arbitrary, but it's always more complex and structured than it seems at first glance. Pairing it with Claire de Lune really emphasized this, but also gave me a comforting feeling that you dont have to be perfect to be beautiful and harmonize with others.
    I also really liked your melody in "Random Rhombus Tilings", so this is my odd little request. Would you be willing to upload or share your music, or is there anywhere I can find it?

    • @DantevanGemert
      @DantevanGemert Рік тому +5

      I second this request! Please share more music!

    • @physicsforthebirds
      @physicsforthebirds  Рік тому +17

      I guess I've been waiting on uploading music because most of it is in the form of short, unfinished snippets that I use for background. I would like to release it only once there is enough of it, or I would like to rearrange some of it so that it fits in a full piece. Whatever the case, I hear you and you can expect me to release it at some point!

    • @aceblade10
      @aceblade10 Рік тому +4

      @physicsforthebirds I can understand feeling like the melodies are too short to complete a piece. I'll definately be looking foward to it!

  • @orichen5409
    @orichen5409 Рік тому +3

    6:50 using a higher resistor for the capacitance sensor helps. The change in value when you touch the sensor becomes more noticeable and easy to detect in your code compared to changes measured from various disturbances.

  • @simonnygaardjensen1367
    @simonnygaardjensen1367 Рік тому +2

    Why Physics for the Birds makes my day better

  • @patriciogarcia3464
    @patriciogarcia3464 Рік тому +1

    10/10, loved the choice of music at the end.

  • @Mahablast
    @Mahablast Рік тому +2

    You’ve given me a whole new meaning to the importance of 3,6,9 in geometry!! Thank you this is so freaking cool. I want this to become a standard instrument in like, band, or something haha

  • @synthbeans471
    @synthbeans471 Рік тому +22

    Cool video! Would be neat if for the visualizations you colored the grid based on the combination of black / white keys that went into it eg, 2 black keys are black, black/white key is gray. I think it would make the grid pretty cool looking

    • @physicsforthebirds
      @physicsforthebirds  Рік тому +12

      That's not a bad idea, sometimes it's hard to tell which note you want

  • @deepspacemachines
    @deepspacemachines Рік тому +1

    Loved the video, and the final music too

  • @finlayrivers9839
    @finlayrivers9839 Рік тому +1

    This channel is the new Vihart, love these vids man

  • @chel8568
    @chel8568 Рік тому +2

    The ending is so amazing! Way more clear than any midi / musical notation, i would love for it to become real ngl

  • @Fumozart
    @Fumozart Рік тому

    bro this is great, now contemporary composers are going to love you

  • @wiredweird
    @wiredweird Рік тому +2

    i need the song you played at the beginning released somewhere... really haunting melody!

    • @scottgmccalla
      @scottgmccalla 7 місяців тому +1

      You're looking for Love Me by Plenka if I'm guessing correctly

  • @bibanez135
    @bibanez135 Рік тому +4

    Mmm. Yes, I can't describe with words how much I like this. I certaintly didn't expect to apply what I learnt in Topology class to making an instrument. I study maths and have played the piano all my life. Thank you for this.

  • @Russian_engineer_bmstu
    @Russian_engineer_bmstu Рік тому +3

    Huh, that's like, really cool. Damn I love elegant solutions to complex problems. Like that reverse square root algorithm or this

  • @quantuminfinity4260
    @quantuminfinity4260 Рік тому +1

    Awesome project! And cool Math.

  • @TeunBuwaldaMusic
    @TeunBuwaldaMusic 2 місяці тому

    I was really confused for some time analysing Clair de Lune because it feels like you just kind of arbitrarily chose whether a note that was still being held should count as an interval with a new note. But when I got that, it was beautiful to see all the patterns you discussed eariler. Great work on this.

  • @ilyakiselev4209
    @ilyakiselev4209 Рік тому +1

    What an incredible project! I haven't seen any other channel explore the interplay of mathematics and music from such curious angles!
    Please keep making videos! ❤

  • @thesoupin8or673
    @thesoupin8or673 Рік тому +1

    Idk how the videos you make are so consistently good and interesting despite always being around 10 minutes long. Incredible stuff. Your animations are super cute and helpful too. Love your work!

  • @Manazenum
    @Manazenum 3 місяці тому

    Absolutely beautiful playing and lyrics!!! Truly touching stuff.

  • @sebastiandierks7919
    @sebastiandierks7919 Рік тому +1

    This was truly interdisciplinary. Well done!

  • @katscratch_newt
    @katscratch_newt Рік тому +1

    Yo this is cool as heck, thank you bird

  • @the-pink-hacker
    @the-pink-hacker Рік тому

    Clair de Lune is easily my favorite piece of classical music. I was so happy when you picked it.

  • @teiyeyia
    @teiyeyia Рік тому +1

    omg that outro version of the song sounded straight out of the Omori soundtracks

  • @StephenRansom47
    @StephenRansom47 Рік тому +4

    😂 Brilliant …
    I know it’s just an experiment, but I was reminiscing about the Thermion and how Tradition rejected it before the aesthetic was realized. Your closing number brought a tear to my eye - Newness is a kind of loneliness.
    Keep Playing with your world.

  • @ValoriYT
    @ValoriYT Рік тому

    The visualization made it much easier to understand what was going on!

  • @kushpatel3553
    @kushpatel3553 Рік тому

    I really appreciate how all of your videos topics are super interesting. It feels like a major factor is the way you go about presenting and connecting different topics.

  • @psylonmusic5264
    @psylonmusic5264 Рік тому +1

    You have so many different skills it's terrifying

  • @johndickinson82
    @johndickinson82 Рік тому +1

    Best video I’ve ever seen and heard. Thank you, and keep it up!

  • @salvatornado
    @salvatornado Рік тому

    The coolest video I have seen in months. Thank you

  • @cheeseburgermonkey7104
    @cheeseburgermonkey7104 Рік тому +1

    This man taking both quality _and_ quantity

  • @kaymaas5439
    @kaymaas5439 Рік тому

    You are the coolest youtuber atm, keep it up!!

  • @TheBabelCorner
    @TheBabelCorner Рік тому

    Man you are amazing at explaining and visualizing stuff, love how you make the real prototype out of the theory!

  • @TheDoctorAndALobster
    @TheDoctorAndALobster Рік тому

    i have no words this is awesome

  • @GizzyDillespee
    @GizzyDillespee Рік тому +1

    2:40 No, that's not true. Notes that are separated by octaves belong to the same pitch class, but people don't perceive them as "the same", because they are not. Each musical note is double the frequency of the note that's an octave below it.
    If you take 2 different pitch classes in 12tet (regular keyboard tuning), maybe E and G... the sound of those notes combined will be very different depending on where on the keyboard you play each note. That's why the gospel pianists are always telling you to switch from block chords to drop 2. The big change in sound? You take the 2nd highest note in the block chord, and drop it down an octave. You can also drop the root by an octave, or you can even drop the 3rd highest note in the block chord... any of those moves will "open up the sound", without changing any pitch classes (only changing which octave they appear in).
    One reason the sound changes, aside from the fundamental pitch halving, is the interactions between the overtones of multiple notes of a harmonically rich timbre such as piano. It can be subjective, whether you hear partials as pitch or timbre, and our hearing systems' frequency response diagrams are all over the place, especially as we age, fletcher-munson be damned... IOW there are many reasons not to dismiss absolute frequency being a valid differentiator between notes that are lumped into the same pitch class. I mean, even just going from the specific notes E4 to G4 - that's a slightly different distance if you're playing piano vs singing in a barbershop quartet. If they each play/sing an E Minor chord, not just the timbre, but the actual fundamental frequencies of the notes will be different, even when it's allegedly the same exact notes in the same register... because the quartet uses Just Intonation tuning, while the piano probably uses a stretched 12tet (could be other tunings, bit definitely NOT JI, unless you got a freaky piano owner on your hands!)
    For music theory 101, you can ignore these things, just like in an intro to physics classroom, you can ignore friction. But if you're going to try to build something as cool as a mobius piano, you shouldn't. I know you framed tgis as a classroom scenario, teaching topology, but I still feel like there needs to be a more musical mobius piano at some point in the future, and now that you own the concept, I'm afraid it's going to have to be you to improve it, going forward. Unless some other ambitious tuber runs with it. That's the exception to the rule. I forgot about that (the "reaction channel" ammendment). Since this version of the mobius piano just came out, the music gods will be forced to give you quite a grace period before they start grumbling... especially if you distract them with other cool stuff in the meantime. But that's the rules.

    • @GizzyDillespee
      @GizzyDillespee Рік тому

      6:19 ah yes... another difficulty with scaling up the number of available notes in total and simultaneously!...

    • @GizzyDillespee
      @GizzyDillespee Рік тому

      But Look Mum No Computer (and sister channel This Museum Is Not Obsolete) have come up with solutions for this sort of situation, both physical wiring and coding ideas.

  • @blacklistnr1
    @blacklistnr1 Рік тому

    This bird.. always asking the burning questions we all have

  • @rando5882
    @rando5882 Рік тому

    You really do be instilling a new appreciation of topics like topology and or Music Theory in people with these vids tho. Got me with the vid on Non-Euclidean Geometry and the shape of the Universe.

  • @ipeaceful6
    @ipeaceful6 Рік тому

    wow, what a cool concept with a surprising physical application. thank you for sharing!

  • @jessewilliams102
    @jessewilliams102 Рік тому

    This makes me happy that you completed this project. Thanks for making a video of it.

  • @taj-vr3lo
    @taj-vr3lo Рік тому

    this is genuinely cool af

  • @Moircuus
    @Moircuus Рік тому +1

    My vinyl collection is gonna start lookin real wonky after this.

  • @ContrapuntalComposer
    @ContrapuntalComposer Рік тому +2

    Very cool! A few of thoughts:
    1. Your Clair de Lune performance included some triads and tetrads shown by the combinations of blue and orange key presses. The simultaneous use of two hands on the physical Mobius strip cause conductive coupling between the two capacitors. I wonder how this would not result in some sort of failure to parse the raw electrical inputs. For that matter, I have the same question about the physical coupling of the two dimensions of the configuration space of the Theremin.
    2. With the human body presumably not connected to a ground or reference voltage, how does your circuit even detect the capacitive coupling with the finger?
    3. I'm thinking that, given the limited number of available grid locations on the physical Mobius strip, it might be good to program the synthesizer to produce Shepard tones so as to avoid forcing intervals definitively into unintended octaves... although I admit that with Shepard tones, the principle of proximity in perception would render the "up-ness" or "down-ness" of intervallic perception by measure relative to the tri-tone.

  • @riklloyd1303
    @riklloyd1303 Рік тому +1

    This is absolutely incredible and thank you so much for doing such awesome stuff so consistently.
    I'd love to see some four-note voice leading displayed by two positions on the last diagram, especially perhaps some Bach (that particularly adheres to Fux Counterpoint, I guess) and maybe some Barry Harris bebop scale voice leading. I think mapping jazz there has a lot of interesting implications as another harmonic analytical tool. :) it'd be fun to see like, a heat map imposed on this kind of thing for which voicings appear frequently in a style of music, or something.
    Regardless, this is just absolutely wild and I really appreciate you taking the time to make it! Thank you!

  • @hibuddy1473
    @hibuddy1473 Рік тому +2

    I loved when he said “It’s Möbius time” and möbd all over the strip.

  • @droko9
    @droko9 Рік тому

    I don't understand how you put out great video after great video, I really like this channel

  • @thivik
    @thivik Рік тому

    This is the best instrument I have ever heard of. Your Videos are amazing!

  • @EPMTUNES
    @EPMTUNES Рік тому

    Your videos are consistently next level. Awesome video

  • @agargamer6759
    @agargamer6759 Рік тому

    Wow, what a connection!

  • @FreakishSmilePA
    @FreakishSmilePA Рік тому

    Woah two uploads in the same month :0 awesome!

  • @gedaliakoehler6992
    @gedaliakoehler6992 Рік тому

    Really fun video. Love the combo of math, music, and electronics.

  • @РайанКупер-э4о
    @РайанКупер-э4о 4 місяці тому +1

    I feel like I need to study topology now

  • @Danyel615
    @Danyel615 Рік тому

    Vihart needs to see this and play your Möbius piano!

  • @NA-yq4pe
    @NA-yq4pe Рік тому

    This was amazing! Such a cool instrument

  • @gamerl2
    @gamerl2 Рік тому

    Thank you for sufficiently blowing my mind sir! All your videos thus far have been excellent, but this tickled my musical interests in a way I didn't even think was possible.
    Also, I'd bet Rob Scallon would love to check this thing out, maybe even help get a sturdier prototype developed

  • @ShrubbaDub
    @ShrubbaDub Рік тому

    Your content is peak UA-cam

  • @pmnt_
    @pmnt_ Рік тому +1

    I always struggled to understand that "arrow" notation when something is supposed to wrap around. And then seeing the cone at 4:05 I understand why these arrows are useful.
    (also I feel the pain of evertime deriving (n+1)*n/2 from scratch)

  • @Henrix1998
    @Henrix1998 Рік тому

    Well, what can I say, this is officially ARCP, a really cool project

  • @iamstickfigure
    @iamstickfigure Рік тому +2

    Please release your version of Claire de Lune! It's so pretty, I want to hear more of it with your additions

  • @T.S.rel11
    @T.S.rel11 Рік тому

    I subscribed without even watching your videos. It's just that interesting.

  • @SaulKohn
    @SaulKohn Рік тому +5

    Dang dude is there anything you CAN'T do?! Incredible.

  • @idontwantahandlethough
    @idontwantahandlethough Рік тому

    this is really cool man!

  • @zidanidane
    @zidanidane Рік тому

    4:56 pressure sensitivity yeah finally a piano that can crescendo

  • @malaparla
    @malaparla Рік тому

    Damn man, i love your videos! Greetings from Argentina ❤

  • @pawelchmielniak3275
    @pawelchmielniak3275 Рік тому

    Amazing content! Truly well done.

  • @danismynewname
    @danismynewname Рік тому

    What an interesting concept!

  • @HugoEscalpelo
    @HugoEscalpelo Рік тому

    I am an electronic engineer and also a developer, 3D modeller, 3D printing specialist, musician and a technology artist. I really love to collaborate with you to made the instrument!!

  • @jaredkhan8743
    @jaredkhan8743 Рік тому

    Another amazing video

  • @JurassicJordan
    @JurassicJordan Рік тому

    Love the Tandy Armatron cameo

  • @tlaloc5432
    @tlaloc5432 Рік тому

    No seriously i love the abstract idea of this instrument, could miniaturize it and wear it on your wrist

  • @matmuntz
    @matmuntz 5 місяців тому

    The visualization of the interface at the end reminds me of Harry Partch's tonality diamond, the basis of his 43-tone, unequal, and symmetrical justly tuned set of pitches. I think there are some interesting topological elements to his theory that are way over my head, but check it out if you haven't!

  • @blackamaterasuflame
    @blackamaterasuflame Рік тому

    Music theory X topology? I didn't know it until just now, but thats exactly what I wanted today.

  • @SmegEdmoOn
    @SmegEdmoOn Рік тому +1

    HE BUILT IT. HE ACTUALLY BUILT IT. THE ABSOLUTE MAD LAD

  • @victorvaz5790
    @victorvaz5790 Рік тому

    Ok, I've been subscribed to your channel for like 3 months and I followed every video so far and understood all of them (enjoyed it very much btw). But I just couldn't get this one. I guess I need more music background. Anyway, the song at the end is beautiful

  • @jamesmackay4529
    @jamesmackay4529 Рік тому

    Wonderful! Thank you!

  • @jackb7685
    @jackb7685 Рік тому +1

    Now we need a playthough of octavarium by dream theater on this. One of it's central themes is "everything comes full circle" (including the album itself and all of its other themes). It's also a sick keyboard album.

  • @bicrome
    @bicrome Рік тому

    this is really cool!
    i can see how a better design with more controlls (maybe with mpe) could make a really futuristic instrument!
    i see this instrument as something similar to the theremin: its cool and modern, its innovative, it might not be the new standard, but its amazing!

  • @pauljones9150
    @pauljones9150 Рік тому

    That was an amazing video

  • @appa609
    @appa609 Рік тому +1

    Cool. I can't say I see the deeper truth about musical composition though.

  • @aze4308
    @aze4308 Рік тому +1

    incredible

  • @lucasg1349
    @lucasg1349 Рік тому

    I wish some of my teachers were like you.

  • @cactus6463
    @cactus6463 Рік тому

    amazing video!

  • @ThisIsNotADrell
    @ThisIsNotADrell Рік тому

    You are simply an inspirational berd.

  • @Michaelonyoutub
    @Michaelonyoutub Рік тому +1

    I think the end would be improved by showing the grid "tiled" out beyond its bounds, matching copies up along matching edges, maybe half greyed out to keep the main space that the tiles come from clear. I think it would better illustrate how many of the progressions are movements along lines in the grid, as you can lose track of them as they go across edges.

  • @KompakterOperator
    @KompakterOperator Рік тому

    I can't even I love these videos

  • @thiagogomes3226
    @thiagogomes3226 Рік тому

    I love the mathematical model and have done some related models myself, but I don't think that the pitch set ideia (2:44), that we perceive the notes in other octaves as equivalent holds true, our perception and acustic phenomenes are much more complex and nuanced than that. Good inspiration to program some Pd music tho.

  • @cirecrux
    @cirecrux Рік тому

    it's beautiful