Mathematics is undoubtedly one of the most hated subjects taught in high schools: formulas, problem sets, unnecessarily long solutions for simple calculations… All of these aspects do nothing but get students around the world to dislike the subject even more. Is math really that distant from our lives though? Is there a way math can get closer to the human experience? The answer is one: music. There happens to be an extremely simple math behind the most popular songs that we all know, songs that have shaped western music to what it is now.
From the two big universes of math and music, Edoardo Panella is a 17 year old student from Italy who loves to learn and never gets tired of it. He started his musical journey in elementary school by learning how to play the piano and then moved to other instruments like guitar, drums and bass. During his childhood and teenage years, the passion and the knowledge acquired made it possible for him to express himself through the language of music and be able to be active in his hometown’s musical scene by founding an alternative/indie rock band called Vanilla Boulevard. While spending his weekends rehearsing with his band and performing gigs around town, he also cultivated a big interest for math by diving into advanced courses online and being a passionate learner throughout his highschool career. Edoardo is considering embarking upon a scientific path in college and his aim is to show the world how musical the study of mathematics can be, and how mathematical the features of musical language can be. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx