E=MC^2 tells us that mass and energy are the same thing, just on massively different scales. This is similar to the musicians theory of relativity that states rhythm, melody, and harmony are mathematically the same, but are measured on equally massive different scales.
To understand this concept, we need to understand pitch. Pitch is measured in Hertz, or cycles per second. So when a note is played, the instrument creating it causes a resonator to vibrate at a consistent rate. The higher the Hz, the higher note. For instance, when middle C is plucked on a violin, the string of the instrument vibrates back and forth a consistent number of times, in the case of middle C this number 261.63 vibrations per second, or 261.63 Hz.
So how can we apply this in our argument that Rhythm is the same thing as Harmony? Based on the principle above, if you were to take a stick click played by a drummer, and if the drummer were to click his sticks together 261.63 times per second, the result would be the pitch of middle C. Though no human could hit two sticks together 261.63 times per second, computer simulations easily prove this true. This theory can also be tested by listening to a fan. When fully sped up, the vibrations from the fan produce a consistent pitch, though not a defined musical note.
If pitch can be measured by a number, than two notes can display a ratio. Lets take the notes A (440 Hz) and E (660 Hz). Whats interesting about these two notes is the ratio of their two frequency's, 2:3. A 2:3 poly-rhythm is a standard of music, and most musicians can easily tap out this rhythm on their legs. If you don't understand this rhythm. Imagine two people clapping along to a song. One person is clapping two beats per measure, and the other is clapping three beats per measure. Whats fascinating about this rhythm though, is that if sped up 120 times, it will create the two notes A and E, or a perfect fifth. The same is true for all other rhythms, with different ratios supplying different intervals. A perfect 4th for example has the ratio of 4:3, a major 7th has the ratio of 15:8.
Though there are very few real world applications of this theory outside of computer generated music, the correlation between math, physics, and music is in itself fascinating. Hopefully we will continue to make discovery's of how these and other extremely unrelated fields of science relate back to each other in an interlocking map of how our world of art and science works.
