Ingrid Carbone thanks for being a guest of Blog della Musica. Graduated in piano at 19 and graduated in mathematics at 21. Music and mathematics: are they complementary? Who has the upper hand over Ingrid?
Let’s first clear up any misunderstandings: I am a musician, first of all and above all, even before being a mathematician. Being a musician is a privilege, being a mathematician is a bit of a choice (I would say like another): I could perhaps have also been a chemist, or an engineer. But music is part of me: I could never think of myself as separated from it. Without a doubt, however, mathematics and music not only complement each other, but also have points of intersection. Simply put, the whole rhythm is based on mathematics (albeit elementary), and solfeggio, which is often considered difficult or boring, has always been like a game for me: simple and pleasant. Then, wanting to add some other less elementary considerations, discipline and patience are certainly two aspects present in both: both in music and in mathematics you have to be really methodical, build everything one piece at a time, wait patiently for the results. To return to me, and reveal some very personal details this time, during a lesson as well as during a concert my aim is always to involve the audience, to convey what I know, what I feel, and my recent conferences- concert are confirmation of this. Finally, I cannot help but confess that the combination of music/mathematics reveals the duality of emotion/rationality: mathematics, evidently, represents for me the means to control (or rather, to attempt to control) a vortex of emotions which, if it finds an outlet and refuge in music, yet he has always been my faithful companion.
