Programme Outline

The implications of this invention affect every piece of music we listen to: from Pythagoras' creation of the 12-note scale; to the big breakthrough of equal temperament; the publication of the 48 Preludes and Fugues by J.S. Bach; and the effect equal temperament had on traditional eastern European music. Howard Goodall ends by observing how Chinese music continued to follow the rules of nature, using the pentatonic scale.