Our New Year's Meeting was attended by 33 KIVI members and guests.

The New Year lecture - also called the Van Olm lecture in memory of the first Region Chairman (in 1977) and KIVI Member of Merit ir W.G. van Olm - was given by our fellow board member Guus van Ditzhuijzen. Following his talk on 5 January 2005 - on iron in the Netherlands and Scandinavia - this was the second time Guus gave the Van Olm lecture.

This time Guus combined two of his hobbies and gave us an impressive overview of how Music is connected to Mathematics.

As already mentioned in the announcement, this started with a scale devised by Pythagoras around 500 BC.

Although the KIVI members present were no longer 100% proficient in the complex mathematical formulas presented, it was extremely interesting to see the various developments, especially by prominent Dutchmen Simon Stevin, Christiaan Huygens and Adriaan Fokker.

Announcement:

The board of KIVI Region North Holland has the pleasure of inviting you to attend our 2019 New Year's Meeting, which will be graced with a lecture by our fellow board member Guus van Ditzhuijzen.

Music is, of course, very much connected to Mathematics. It is not for nothing that the whole number worshipper Pythagoras (572 - 500 BC) devised a scale with ratios in whole numbers.

The lecture will include a bit of oscillation theory, what natural harmonics are (fundamental, overtones) and various divisions of the octave: Pythagoras tuning, pure tuning, proportional tuning. And why some intervals on the piano are actually out of tune.

Names of prominent mathematicians and physicists who pass the review include besides Pythagoras: Aristoxenos (360 - 300 BC student of Aristotle), Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590, Venice), Simon Stevin (1548-1620), Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), Leonard Euler (1707-1783) and Prof.Dr Adriaan Fokker (1887-1972) with the Euler organ with 10 tone genera and the Fokker-Huygens 31-tone organ.

Finally, some mathematical reflections on some musical instruments.

The board of KIVI Region North Holland has the pleasure of inviting you to attend our 2019 New Year's Meeting, which will be graced with a lecture by our fellow board member Guus van Ditzhuijzen.

Music is, of course, very much connected to Mathematics. It is not for nothing that the whole number worshipper Pythagoras (572 - 500 BC) devised a scale with ratios in whole numbers.

The lecture includes a bit of oscillation theory, what natural harmonics are (fundamental, overtones) and various divisions of the octave: Pythagoras tuning, pure tuning, proportional tuning. And why some intervals on the piano are actually out of tune.

Names of prominent mathematicians and physicists who pass the review include besides Pythagoras: Aristoxenos (360 - 300 BC student of Aristotle), Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590, Venice), Simon Stevin (1548-1620), Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), Leonard Euler (1707-1783) and Prof.Dr Adriaan Fokker (1887-1972) with the Euler organ with 10 tone genera and the Fokker-Huygens 31-tone organ.

Finally, some mathematical reflections on some musical instruments.

Programme

12:00 - 13:30: reception with drinks and word of welcome, followed by coffee table

13:30 - 15:00: lecture by Guus van Ditzhuijzen

Information about the speaker

After studying Mechanical Engineering (with a major in Control Engineering), Guus spent his working life at Hoogovens, Hoogovens Technical Services and Corus, in the field of automation of rolling mills with many complex mathematical models. But modelling the iron and steel process also had his interest. As these models were supplied to other companies (e.g. Tata Steel, India), he travelled a lot and always took an exotic local musical instrument with him.

Even during his student days, he sang and learned to sing harmonically pure with other voices. He also learned to play an old trumpet (self-taught). Later at the Teisterband (Heemsteeds Herenblaasorkest) he switched to slide trombone. The interest in music and mathematics has been there since the 4th grade Gymnasium, where physics lessons explained the vibrations of organ pipes and (violin) strings.