The Mathematics of the Straw Flute
Yutaka Nishiyama · International Journal of Pure and Apllied Mathematics · 2012
It is possible to make a simple flute-like instrument using a straw. I used an electronic tuner to determine reference tones, and then located the required positions to create finger holes to form a diatonic scale. Pythagoras created Pythagorean tuning as part of his research into the relationship between scales and the length of strings. The oscillations that represent a scale and the length of the strings creating it can be represented by a geometric series, showing us the close association between music and mathematics.