Yale University Department of Music

The Fibonacci Series in Twentieth-Century Music

Author(s): Jonathan Kramer
Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring, 1973), pp. 110-148
Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/843120
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110

THE

FIBONACCI SERIES

I. INTRODUCTION

A summation series is one in which each term is the sum of

the two previous terms:

Fn+2 = Fn+ + Fn for n>0

By choosing the values of FO and F1, we define the series.

The sequence that is usually referred to as the Fibonacci ser-
ies is the special case in which F0 = 0 and F1 = 1. The first
few terms of this series are

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144
 IN

TWENTIETH-CE

MUSIC

JONATHAN KRAMER

The Fibonacci series has a number of interesting mathematical

properties. In fact, study of its implications has filled nearly
fifty volumes of the FIBONACCI QUARTERLY. I list a few
simple properties of the series, in order to give some small
idea of the richness of this sequence of numbers:

1. The series approximates a sequence of golden mean parti-

tions (when a line segment, for example, is divided according
to the golden mean, the whole is to the larger part as the larger
is to the smaller part). I will have more to say about this
property below.

2. Every third Fibonacci number is divisible by 2; every fourth

112

Fibonacci number is divisible by 3; every fifth Fibonacci num-

ber is divisible by 5; in fact, every nth Fibonacci number is
divisible by Fn. *1

3. The sum of the first n Fibonacci numbers, for any n, is

one less than some other Fibonacci number. *2 In particular,

n
E = Fn+2 - 1
Fk
k= 1

4. The last digits of Fibonacci numbers repeat at a cycle of

60 numbers; the last two digits repeat at a cycle of 300; the
last three at a cycle of 1500; the last four at a cycle of 15,000;
the last five at a cycle of 150, 000; etc. *3

5. The sum of any sequence of consecutive Fibonacci terms

plus the second such term is a Fibonacci number. *4

(Fi + Fi+1 + . . . + + F+1 = Fk for some i, j, k

Fi+)
A lore has grown up around Fibonacci numbers, not only be-
cause of their many surprising and elegant mathematical prop-
erties, but also because they continually appear in the physical
world in seemingly unrelated contexts. There is experimental
psychological data, for example, that golden mean proportions
in cards, mirrors, pictures, etc., (which would be provided
by Fibonacci lengths) appeal to our sense of symmetry;':5 the
Fibonacci series was apparently used to give golden mean pro-
portions in Greek vases and in the poetry of Vergil;*6 it ap-
pears in Minoan architecture `:-7 as well as that of the ancient
Greeks and in Gothic cathedrals; it was apparently used to de-
termine patterns in mosaic designs in several ancient coun-
tries;*8 it is found to determine patterns of shell growth ":6 and
in phyllotaxis (leaf and petal arrangement) - various types of
flowers tend to have on the average Fibonacci numbers of pet-
als, and in trees with spiral arrangements of leaves or branches
the Fibonacci series determines the number of rotations be-
fore we find a leaf or branch directly above a given one, and
there is a tendency for Fibonacci numbers of leaves or branches
to be in such spirals, etc.;';9 the Fibonacci series tends to
determine the number of spirals of eyes (fruitlets) in pine-
apples;*10 the series determines the number of ancestors a
bee will have (since male bees hatch from unfertilized eggs
while female bees come from fertilized eggs);*11 the Fibonacci
numbers appear in certain electrical networks;*12 Fibonacci
numbers are approximated in the structures of atomic and sub-
 113

atomic particles;*13 the ratios of the distances of the moons

of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus from their parent planets follow
Fibonacci (i.e., golden mean) ratios, as do (in a poorer ap-
proximation) the distances of the planets, including the asteroid
belt, from the sun;*14 Fibonacci numbers have played a part
in the branch of cancer research that attempts to construct a
mathematical model for the movement of malignant cells;*15
the Fibonacci numbers have been useful in water pollution con-
trol in determining where best to place sewage treatment plants
for cities on the same river;*16 there is some evidence that
Fibonacci numbers relate to the number of years in the cycles
between peaks and peaks, peaks and lows, lows and peaks, and
lows and lows of the stock market;*'17 it has even been sug-
gested that Fibonacci numbers are involved in the cycles of the
extremes of such diverse events as grasshopper abundance,
automobile factory sales, the ratio of male to female concep-
tions, advertising effectiveness, sunspots, tree ring size, rain-
fall in India, Nile floods, financial panics, and furniture pro-
duction. *18

With such a prevalence of Fibonacci numbers, it would proba-

bly be more surprising if they did not appear in music. Many
twentieth-century composers have used Fibonacci numbers as
compositional determinants, in a variety of ways and probably
for a variety of reasons. For many the attractiveness of the
series was undoubtedly its apparent universality, or at least
some of its intriguing mathematical and physical properties
appealed to composers' gamesmanship. In this paper I am not
really interested in why composers turned to the Fibonacci
series, but rather in why they liked the results. In other
words, what properties of the Fibonacci series make it appro-
priate to music? And, more significantly, how does the Fibon-
acci series come across perceptually?

I shall begin by considering the theoretical aspects of Fibonacci

proportions in music. The remainder of the article is devoted
to examination of several examples, primarily of durational
and pitch uses of the series, so that we can see the variety of
usages and also get a better understanding through analysis of
the ways in which the Fibonacci series determines perceptual
form. These examples are surely not exhaustive, and perhaps
they are not even wholly representative. Compositional use of
the Fibonacci series is not well documented, and I have !there-
fore supplemented my examples from well-known composers
with several examples by younger composers, whose Fibonacci
works I happen to have encountered for one reason or another.
114

II. THEORETICAL ASPECTS

Most traditional tonal music is proportioned according to the

simple geometric series 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . and the equally
simple arithmetic series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..... In the duration
parameter standard classical measure groupings are according
to the geometric series (applied to successive hierarchical
levels), with deviations (extensions, elisions, overlaps, etc.)
being additions to or subtractions from the geometric norm
and hence derivative of the arithmetic series. In the pitch
parameter these two basic series prevail in terms of scale
degrees (arithmetic series)*19 and octave equivalence (geo-
metric series). This is obviously a greatly oversimplified
view, but I trust the reader will grant its essential accuracy;
it is beyond the scope of the present study to investigate in any
depth the proportional series used in tonal music.

Just as composers in the twentieth century have sought new

ways to organize their pitch materials, so new proportional
series have been tried. The Fibonacci series has provided
those composers who turned to it with an adequate alternative
to the simple series stated above. It avoids periodicity and
regularity, yet it is well ordered and it has properties that
accomplish similar results to the arithmetic and geometric
properties of the earlier series. There are perhaps five prop-
erties of the Fibonacci series that are relevant to its use in
music; in some excerpts some of these properties are more
important than others, but they are all necessarily present
when a composer choses to use the series.

1. The additive property. The Fibonacci series is not an

arithmetic series (an arithmetic series is an ordered set of
numbers in which the difference between any two successive
terms is constant), but it does have an additive property, since
it is a summation series. The definition of the Fibonacci ser-
ies provides the additive property, and the fact that any term
of the series is the sum of the next smaller two terms can be
made perceptible and significant in music.

2. The golden mean property. A golden mean partitioning of

an interval (spatial, temporal, pitch, etc. ) provides that

a+b:a = a:b

where a is the larger subdivision. Golden mean partitioning

has been utilized extensively in the visual arts because it pro-
vides shapes we accept as balanced. Examples of golden
 115

mean partitioning in music suggest that the sense of symmetry

provided by golden mean spatial partitioning is, at least to
some extent, carried into temporal and pitch-registral spaces.

The Fibonacci series is a remarkably good approximation of a

series of golden means. In other words, for any three consecu-
tive terms of the Fibonacci series, the largest is to the middle
as the middle is to the smallest, to within 1. In particular,

Fn2 = Fn-lFn+l + (-1)n+l

For proof of this assertion, see Appendix 1. Here I simply

list the first few terms of a series of golden means and of the
corresponding Fibonacci approximations (see Example 1). Once
a composer realizes (whether consciously or intuitively) how
closely Fibonacci partitioning (Fn+1 = Fn + Fn-1) approximates
golden mean partitioning (Fn+1:Fn = Fn:Fn-_1), the possibilities
are attractive for extending the time-honored aesthetic lore
about ideally satisfying spatial proportions into the temporal
and registral domains of music, without having to abandon the
convenience of measuring with integers durations (in terms of
pulse-units) and register (in terms of semitones).

3. The proportional property. The series of golden means

shown in Example 1 actually comprise a geometric series (a
series in which the ratio of any term to its predecessor is con-
Rn
stant), in which the constant multiplier is ,- where the golden
ratio R 2 1. 618 (see Appendix 1). Thus the Fibonacci
series approximates a geometric series, not, to be sure, with
such simple terms as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . , but with the same
multiplicative property.

4. The 3:2 property. Stockhausen claims to be interested in

Fibonacci durational proportions because they approximate a
geometric series of terms in the ratio of 3:2, hence providing
a "perfect fifth of duration. "*:"20It is probably true that the
ratio of any two successive terms is close enough to 3:2 to be
within the limits of perception (see Example 2), but the series
does not as a whole approximate a 3:2 series nearly as well as
it approximates a golden mean series (see Example 3). (Notice
that the "3:2 ratios" in Example 2 do not constitute a geometric
series; rather, they are individual terms in the ratio 3:2, chosen
to have Fibonacci numerators.) I suspect that the reasons
Stockhausen finds the results of Fibonacci durational propor-
tions satisfactory is not that they approximate ratios of 3:2 and
1COMPARISON OF GOLDEN MEAN SERIES AND FIBONACCI

0.72 1.17 1.89 3.07 4.97 8.02 12.98 21.01

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21

2COMPARISON OF 3:2 RATIOS AND FIBONACCI RATIOS

2 3 5 8 13 21 34
3:2
ratios:.. 1 1 1 2 2
1- 2 3- 5- 8- 14 22-
3 3 3 3 3

2 3 5 8 13 21 34
Fibonacci ratios:
1 2 3 5 8 13 21
 117

EXAMPLE

3COMPARISON OF FIBONACCISERIES

AND ONE OF THE CLOSER 3:2 SERIES

3:2 series: 0.88 1.32 1.93

Fibonacci series:0 1 1

2.98 4.46 6.69 10.04 15.11

2 3 5 8 13

22.67 34.00 51.00 76.50 114.75

21 34 55 89 144
113

hence bring pitch and duration ratios together, but rather be-
cause of the golden mean and proportional properties. *21

5. The relatively prime property. Any two successive terms

of the Fibonacci series are relatively prime. In other words,
they have no common integer divisor other than 1. See Appen-
dix 2 for proof of this assertion. This means that, despite all
the useful symmetrical properties described above, on the
term-to-term level a certain asymmetry or aperiodicity or
slight unpredictability obtains. We can understand the attrac-
tiveness of the Fibonacci series to twentieth-century composers
who are trying to establish new rhythmic systems that get away
from the regularity of earlier tonal rhythmic systems, yet re-
tain their unity, flexibility, and versatility.

In many of the works with Fibonacci durations that we will ex-

amine, the Fibonacci proportions are essential to, in some
cases even defining, the form. For the proportions to be read-
ily perceptible (as opposed to being a subaudible background
structure), relatively static music is often used to fill up the
Fibonacci durations. If the situation were otherwise, the ac-
tivity within a given Fibonacci duration might distort our per-
ception of its actual length so that comparisons with other Fi-
bonacci-derived durations would be clouded.

III. EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI DURATIONS

1. Bartok

The most celebrated examples of Fibonacci durations are found

in some works of Bart6k. The extensive studies of Ernb Lend-
vai are well known and readily available, '22 so there is no
need to relate all his discoveries here. I will therefore re-
strict myself to a few of the most instructive examples and to
those instances where I have something to add to Lendvai's
observations.

Let us start with a simple example. In the "Allegro Barbaro"

for piano solo, we find two proportional systems - the meas-
ures that contain only an F# minor chord activated in eighth
notes are grouped into the Fibonacci durations respectively of
5, 8, 5, 5, 3, 13, and 8, while other passages are grouped
more traditionally by the geometric series 2, 4, 8, 16, with
deviations created additively. *23 Significantly, the Fibonacci
groups are internally undifferentiated in every parameter.
This is important because we are not led to subdivide these
durations into non- Fibonacci lengths, and because the staticism
 119

of the Fibonacci measures both sets them off from the rest of
the music and also makes the additive property of the series
readily perceptible.

For the additive property of the Fibonacci series to have any

meaning, there must be at least four consecutive terms pres-
ent (note that there are four in "Allegro Barbaro"). To hear a
duration of 8 as the sum of other durations of 5 and 3 is not
special: the smaller durations could just as well have been,
say, 6 and 2. But once Bartok introduces a fourth Fibonacci
duration (13), which is heard as the sum of the previous 8 and
5, then we realize the elegance and economy of the system.
Thus the 13-bar F# minor sonority is satisfying not so much
because it expands the Fibonacci system by one more term
but because it really defines the system.

Much of the interest in this work lies in the juxtaposition of the

two proportional systems. The two series have a few terms
in common, namely 1, 2, and 8. The coincidence on the small
values 1 and 2 is hardly striking or compositionally useful; the
coincidence on 8 has potential, however, and Bartck takes ad-
vantage of this fact to end the piece. A clear 8-bar static
phrase, whose material associates it with the previous (2 + 2)
+ (2 + 2) = 8 geometric structures (although in its new context
its staticism prevents its being heard as built up from 2-bar
units), is followed after a 5-bar interlude by an 8-bar static
phrase based on the F# minor material. The latter eight bars
are associated motivically with the Fibonacci phrase lengths,
the former with the geometric phrase lengths, yet they both
have the same duration and they are both static: we readily
hear their equivalence. Thus the two proportional systems of
the piece are reconciled, and the piece ends.

Bart6k did not utilize the Fibonacci series in a great many

works. When it does appear, it is usually to provide golden
mean proportions, which occur (with or without the Fibonacci
numbers) in several of Bart6k's compositions. Lendvai gives
several examples, the most impressive of which is the Sonata
for Two Pianos and Percussion, in which the golden mean is
evident from the largest level [the whole piece is 6432 eighth-
note beats long, divided at its golden mean into the first move-
ment (3974) and the second plus third movements (771 + 1687 =
2458)]'24 down to the smallest level (the 17-bar introduction
is elaborately subdivided on many levels according to golden
mean ratios).

I would like to look at Lendvai's analysis of the first movement

120

of the Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste, since here

Bart6k uses Fibonacci numbers to obtain his golden meanpro-
portions. This movement is not composed with the static blocks
that one might expect if Fibonacci proportions are to be a po-
tent structural force. It is true that the Fibonacci proportions
are a less important aspect of the form here than in, for ex-
ample, the Stockhausen works discussed below, where the Fi-
bonacci proportions really comprise the whole form. Bart6k,
rather, uses Fibonacci numbers in a way that underlines the
directional motion. On the larger levels he arranges the golden
mean subdivision of a given unit appropriately into long+short
(which tends to push ahead) before the climax, or short+long
(which tends to relax accumulated tension) after the climax.

The first movement lasts 88 measures. By considering the

pause after the movement as a final bar of silence, we obtain
Fibonacci number 89. The piece's sectional and subsectional
divisions occur at other Fibonacci numbers: there are 55 bars
before the main climax; these 55 bars are subdivided when the
strings remove their mutes and the timpani enter in bar 34;
the final 34 measures are divided after 21 bars by the replace-
ment of the mutes and by the first full statements of the theme
in inversion; the initial group of 34 measures is further sub-
divided as the fugal exposition ends in bar 21; the final 21 bars
are subdivided into 13 + 8 by a change in texture and the dis-
appearance of the celeste arpeggios and string tremolos.

Actually, these proportions of Lendvai are not quite as elegant

or significant as they might at first appear. They are less
than elegant because they are approximate. For example, the
climax occurs after 55 bars (i.e., in bar 56) while the mutes
are removed and the timpani enter in bar 34 (i.e., after 33
bars). For another example, a major textural change (under-
lined by the celeste entrance) occurs atbar 78, but itis omitted
from Lendvai's schematic, perhaps because it does not fit his
analysis. It does come within one bar of satisfying a Fibonacci
relation, however, since there are 22 bars from the arrival
of the climax (bar 56) to the celeste entrance (bar 78).

Fibonacci proportions operate in this movement, as I have

said, as a less significant structural force than in other works
discussed below. This is due not only to the approximate na-
ture of the system but also to the fact that the Fibonacci num-
bers count not absolute duration but measures, despite the
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
variety of tempos and time signatures (8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8'
 121

an12 ) in a style in which the written measure

and8 is not strikingly
audible as a unit.

Once we admit that the Fibonacci proportions of this movement

may be approximate, we can find more such relationships than
those mentioned by Lendvai. The following are partitions by
Fibonacci numbers fl: the 13-bar segment starting with the
climax is subdivided 9 + 4 by the thinning of the texture at m.
65; the initial 9 of this segment is subdivided 2 + 3 + 4 by the
centeringon E6, B6, and F respectively. These and the earlier
mentioned Fibonacci partitions are summarized in the diagram,
Example 4, which is a corrected and expanded version of Lend-
vai's chart.

The third movement of Music for Strings, Percussion, and

Celeste is structured along similar lines, with about the same
number of exceptions and approximations. Lendvai makes an
attempt to relate the proportions to absolute durations by as-
4 movement a value of
signing the 23 measures in the prevailing
5
1 1/2, but he does not similarly treat the 5 and42 measures.
Also he once again smoothes over Bartok's approximations. A
more convincing yet still problematical analysis, in terms solely
of measure units, is given by Edward A. Lowman. *25 I suggest
comparing these two analyses with the score; I do not wish to
use any more space here on Bart6k's Fibonacci proportions.

2. Stockhausen

I would rather turn our attention now to a few recent composers

who have used the Fibonacci series to determine durations.
Let us consider first two works by Stockhausen, in which the
series is used prominently and systematically, so that it con-
tributes more significantly to the total form than it does in
the Bartok examples discussed above. Stockhausen uses the
Fibonacci series proportionally in many ways, some simple
and some complicated. I would like to examine "Klavierstilck
IX" (in which most of the measures have Fibonacci time signa-
tures) in some detail, since it exemplifies the compositional
utility of the series for Stockhausen and because the use of the
series is reasonably straightforward. Although the propor-
tional property of the series is necessarily present, the addi-
tive property contributes more to the durational form. Con-
sider, for example, the thirteen ( )measures 1.2. 1-1.3.4,
":126
every one of which has a Fibonacci duration. The time signa-
13 2 21 8 1 3 8 1 5 13 2 5 3
tures are, respectively, 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8'
PROPORTIONS IN FIRST MOVEMENT OF
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste

end of senza con

exp. sord. climax sord.
fugal exp. fugal devel. gradual build E6 B6 F thin themein

21 12 1 2 121314 4 9

21 12 22 9 14
33 22 1 13
55 1 34
89
 123

is significant that only at the end of this passage (1. 3.2-4) is a

duration either preceded, succeeded, or surrounded by dura-
tions which sum to it; Stockhausen is saving for cadentialpur-
poses the overt use of the additive property. There are two
1 2 3 5 8 13
measures each in this passage of and
8' 8' 8' 8'8'
8' 8and 8
8'
218'
one measure of 8. Of each pair of measures with the same
time signature, one measure contains attacks and one measure
contains sustained (by pedal) sound. Thus, there is a near
symmetry at work here (the one 21 measure of attacks is not
balanced by an equal duration of sustained sound). It is typical
of the composer to create such a symmetrical pattern and then
to distribute its elements over a span of time without apparent
regard for their order. That the complete pattern is compre-
hended in retrospect suggests the staticism which the pitch
invariance provides. In such a passage as this, the order of
elements matters less (except for the alternation of attacks and
sustained sound and the cadential emergence of additive ad-
jacencies) than the totality of those elements. ":27

The symmetry of this early passage, with its clear Fibonacci

proportions, is expositional. The remaining Fibonacci pro-
portions in the piece relate to this and to the following pas-
sage, which gives Fibonacci durations at the slower of the two
tempos used prior to the coda. In this passage, from 1.3.5 to
2.3.5 (the 8 interjection at 2.2.6 relates to similar events at
4.1.4, 4.2.3, 4.3.1, 4.3.5, and 4.3.8, and it is moreover
subdivided 3 + 1), the additive property is somewhat more ex-
posed, since the series of durations juxtaposes consecutive
21 3 1 13
Fibonacci terms. The measures are, respectively, 8 8 8 8
2 8 5 13 3 2 8 5 1 8 3 5 1 2 4 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 2 1 1
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
succession contains the following sets of three adjacent meas-
ures: (8, 3,5), (3, 1,2), (3,2, 1), and (2, 1, 1), in which the first
measure is equal in duration to the sum of the other two; (8, 5,
13) and (1,2, 3), in which the duration of the third measure
equals the sum of the durations of tae other two; and (2,3, 1)
and (1,2, 1), in which the middle measure is equal in duration
to the sum of the other durations. "'28

The two passages just examined do not constitute the opening

of the piece. There are three prior measures which serve to
introduce the following important elements of the piece: peri-
odicity; a static, referential simultaneity; stepwise chromati-
cism; Fibonacci proportions governing the lengths of notes (the
third measure contains, apart from the grace notes, pitches
124

of duration 3, 8, 5, 13, 5, and 8 eighths respectively); and the

two main tempos ( = 60 and = 160). A real analytic puzzle
is why is
the 12 rather than 14, and likewise
first measure is 1428
thewhy
why the second measure is rather than 8 I can find no
convincing rationale for dropping two beats from each of these
measures (see, however, Reference 30).

A recapitulation of sorts starts at 5.1.3. The section begin-

ning at 5.2.1 corresponds to 1.3.5-2.3.5, just discussed. The
later section is the most overt realization of the additive prop-
8153252313
erty. The measures are, respectively, 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
1221
8 8 8 8. This series contains the following sets of three con-
secutive measures, the durations of some two of which add up
to the duration of the third: (5, 3, 2), (5, 2, 3), (3, 1,2), (3, 2, 5),
and (2,3,1).

The coda, with its new tempo ( = 120), presents the most
intricate yet clearest use of Fibonacci series in the piece. The
codais articulatedin groups of 7, 5, 3, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8meas-
ures respectively (note the heavy barlines). *29 Each of these
groups contains one and only one measure of each Fibonacci time
signature. For example, the group of six measures (7.1.5-
1 2 3 5 8 13
7.2.3) contains one measure each of 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8and 88"
Furthermore, the groups contain the following total number of
eighths:

group with 1 measure contains 1 eighth

group with 2 measures contains 3 eighths
group with 3 measures contains 6 eighths
group with 4 measures contains 11 eighths
group with 5 measures contains 19 eighths
group with 6 measures contains 32 eighths
group with 7 measures contains 53 eighths
group with 8 measures contains 87 eighths

This series 1 3 6 11 19 32 53 87 derives from the Fibonacci

series *30 since each term of it is Fn-2 for some n, and hence
the differences between successive terms are, respectively,
2 3 5 8 13 21 34.

In addition to this relationship and to the fact that each measure

has a Fibonacci time signature, we find that each measure
contains either 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, or 21 attack points.' *'31 It
is significant that the longer durations do not necessarily con-
 125

tain the greater number of attack points. Thus, for example,

7. 1. 4 is a measure containing 21 attack points, while 7.3.2
is a 1i measure containing only 8 attack points. Thus the
amount of silence at the end of each measure is the result of
the application of the Fibonacci series to two parameters (dur -
ation of measures and numbers of attacks per measure).
34
Notice that the penultimate measure is 8. It is the first oc-
currence of this time signature, and it recalls the long dura-
tions of the opening measures. Since we realize that the piece
is based on Fibonacci proportions, we are not surprised to find
a duration of 34. Translated into aural terms, this means that
since we become more and more aware of the additive property
as the piece progresses, we can expect the previously largest
Fibonacci units (13 and 21) to sum eventually to 34. The length
of the wait before the last measure seems, at least to this lis-
tener, exactly right. This is "proof" of the aural power of the
Fibonacci series; its consistent use throughout the piece es-
tablishes a context with implications. We find a duration of 34
satisfying without having previously heard it in the piece.

A larger scale use of Fibonacci proportions than in this piece

is found in "Adieu" for wind quintet. The durations of all
measures, except the five which contain tonal references and
the four with unmeasured silences, are given by Fibonacci
numbers from 1 to 144. The properties of the series are read-
ily heard because each duration contains a largely static (or at
least slowly changing) unfolding of a sonority, which changes
when we move on to the next measure. The tonal references
start, end, and subdivide the piece into four sections, each
with a total duration (still not counting the tonal references and
unmeasured pauses) of 144. The unmeasured pauses further
subdivide these sections, so that the piece consists of eight
subsections, with respective total durations of 144, 55, 89,
144, 34, 21, 34, and 55. Notice that these Fibonacci durations
contain the following triples which exhibit both the additive and
golden-mean (slightly disguised by the order of terms in the
first triple only) properties of the series: (144, 55, 89), (55,
89, 144), and (21, 34, 55). This appearance of Fibonacci dur-
ations in series order occurs occasionally on the measure-to-
measure level also, most notably at the end, where Stockhausen
uses a segment of the series in order for cadential purposes
(as in "Klaviersttick IX"): 5 8 13 21 34.

There is a cellular consistency governing the order of the

Fibonacci durations in "Adieu. " There are two types of dura-
tional cells:
126

type x: Fn Fn+1 Fn Fn-1 or its inversion Fn Fn-1Fn Fn+1 or

its retrograde or retrograde inversion

type y: Fn-1 Fn Fn Fn+1 or its retrograde (which equals its

inversion).

Notice that type x is a permutation of type y. Notice also that

the total duration of type x (and hence of type y) is a Fibonacci
number, namely Fn+3. Excepting the first two measures (89
and 55) and the lone measure of maximum duration 144, every
measure is a member of several x and y cells on various levels.
Once we allow the summing of adjacent durations, we find the
durational scheme of the piece to be an elaborate interlocking
of x and y cells on many levels. See Example 5.

Stockhausen used the Fibonacci series in less obvious ways in

other pieces. See his analysis of "Zyklus. " for example.-*32
Also, "Telemusik" has a durational scheme that includes Fi-
bonacci proportions. :*33 Furthermore, the German-American
composer Rolf Gehlhaar, who served as Stockhausen's assistant
for a few years, has based the large-scale proportions of his
"Probe Nicht " on the Fibonacci series.

3. Nono

At approximately the time that Stockhausen was composing

"Klaviersttick IX, " his Darmstadt colleague Luigi Nono was
utilizing, in "I1 Canto Sospeso, " the Fibonacci series in a dif-
ferent manner. Nono was apparently less interested in gener-
ating formal proportions than in determining individual note
durations by means of the series. The second movement of
this large work, which is rather celebrated in analytic litera-
ture (see especially Stockhausen's analysis *34), is "totally"
serialized, with the durations of notes generated by Fibonacci
numbers 1 2 3 5 8 13.

The Fibonacci series is particularly useful in serialization of

durations. It avoids the problem of additive durations, such
as

JY!. Y 1 Y1 . . 1 Ietc.
in which the ratio between adjacent small durations is far more
drastic (ef: = 2:1) than that between adjacentlarge durations
(1. : . =?12:11). *35 The Fibonacci series also avoids the
other extreme of an equal-tempered (i.e., geometric) series,
such as
 THE MORE OBVIOUS INTERLOCKING x AND y CELLS IN "ADIEU"
(Others Can Be Found)

T T P T T P

x3144

89 55 8 13 21 13 55 34 144 2 3 5 3 3 5 5 3 2 3 5 1 2
.?234

x55 x13 Y21 3 Y

55 Y34

Y89

144 55 89 144 34 21

X144

144 144 144

144

T=tonal reference
P=unmeasured pause
128

Y o 1 100 etc.
f Ji
in which the range between the smallest and largest durations
is too great to handle effectively, even in a series of only six
durations (as in "Il Canto Sospeso"). The Fibonacci numbers
offer a series relationship as simple (and hence perceptible)
as the geometric and arithmetic series cited above, but the
Fibonacci numbers mediate between the extremes that cause
the other series problems.

In the second movement of "II Canto Sospeso, " there are four
contrapuntal voices, which contain no silences, distributed
freely over the eight parts of the unaccompanied chorus (so
that half the score contains rests). Each of the four voices
proceeds " at a different tempo, using pulse-units respectively
of 1, P., , and IP in = ca. 60-66. Every note in each
voice has a duration of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, or 13 times its basic
pulse-unit. The order of Fibonacci numbers is serialized; the
basic row is

1 2 3 5 8 13 13 8 5 3 2 1

After the row is stated once, it is rotated one degree, so that

the next row form is

2 3 5 8 13 13 8 5 3 2 1 1

The subsequent row form is again a one-degree rotation of the

previous row form; and so on. There are twelve Fibonacci
numbers in each row form, so that each order position of the
Fibonacci row corresponds to one order position (actually to
one pitch class, since the pitch row is never transposed, retro-
graded, inverted, or rotated) of the pitch row.

The pitch row, and hence the Fibonacci row, is applied to suc-
cessive notes, regardless of the voice in which they occur.
The voice to which a given note belongs determines its actual
duration, since the Fibonacci number must be multiplied by
one of the basic four pulse-units. The system is summarized
in Example 6. *36 The four durational sets (the Fibonacci num-
bers multiplied by the basic pulse-units) overlap in a few val-
ues: 2" = 3J = 5 , so Nono omits 2.F and minimizes
3 " (it occurs but twice, where the system allows no free
choice)*37; 1J
= 2: , so 1* appears only at the very be-
ginning. It is also worth noting that the twelfth rotation of the
Fibonacci row, which would have duplicated the first row form,
is omitted. One further observation: the system (taken together
FIBONACCI DURATION SERIALIZATION IN
II Canto Sospeso, SECOND MOVEMENT

measure in which
row form begins: 108 110 112 114 117 119 121 123 125 128 130

A iJ 2 3 55 8J 1313 138J
8 5J 31 2

B6 2 3J 51 8J 131 13 '8 f551' 3 2 1

A 3 5 8 13 13 8 5s 3 2 1 IS
B 5 58 13 513 8 5 3 2 J1 2
1 1 1

G 8 1 13J13J 8 1S5J 3 2 51 1 1 21 3

C 13;13 8 5 53 : 2 :S1 1 2 13 55
F# 13 8J 3J3 2 1 1 2 31J 51 8
15 1

C$ 8 5
5153 SJ2IS'1J 1 2 31315 8 131
F 55 3:5 2 1 1 f2 3 1S
5 8 13 13J

D 3 2. 1 1 2 31 5 8 113 1338
E 2 1 1 2 31 5 81 13113 8 s5
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 13 8J 5 3
Eb
130

with the serialization of dynamics [see the Stockhausen analy-

sis *34])' does not produce the music completely automatically.
Whenever two or more voices end a duration simultaneously,
the subsequent simultaneous attack allows the composer to
choose freely to which of the notes of the simultaneity to apply
the available Fibonacci multipliers (see, for example, measure
133 - C, C# or F~ could have been extended by 13, 13, or 8
times or ,I or I in any combination.)

The Fibonacci duration scheme provides an approximately even

distribution of long and short durations in mm. 108-142. Nono
changes the system in the coda (mm. 142-157) to give a formal
shape to the density of the passage derived from the Fibonacci
series. Each of the four voices goes through the Fibonacci
durations (as applied to the appropriate pulse-units) in the row
order

13 8 5 3 2 1 1 2 3 5 8 13

Each of the four voices reaches the midpoint of this row at ap-
proximately the same time (mm. 149-50), so that the coda sys-
tem provides a measured intensification and then relaxation of
the durations, slightly reminiscent of the durational support of
climax intensity in the first movement of Music for Strings,
Percussion, and Celeste.

4. Others

It is interesting that in the three pieces just discussed -

"Klaviersttick IX, " "Adieu, " and the second movement of "Il
Canto Sospeso" - the Fibonacci series was used in its most
exposed ways for cadential purposes. Although I am not pre-
pared to claim that there is some necessarily cadential property
to the series, I can provide a further interesting example. In
"Lorelei" for four flutes, four violoncellos, four sopranos, four
basses, and piano (four hands), by my Yale colleague Robert
Morris, the Fibonacci series is used to relax tension yet pre-
serve symmetry (see the "total" column in Example 7) as the
piece draws to a close. The prominent piano part is an alter-
nation of attacks and sustained (by pedal) sound. The sustained
sound gradually and proportionally takes over from the dense
attack measures.

Probably the reason that the composers discussed above chose

to use Fibonacci durations in series order at major cadences
is that the musical properties of the series (additive, propor-
tional, golden mean) are most evident when the members of
 131

EXAMPLE

CADENTIAL FIBONACCI PROPORTIONS IN "LORELEI"

measures measures of
of attack sustained sound

21 1 22
13 2 15
8 3 11
5 5 10
3 8 11
2 13 15
1 21 22
132

the series are stated in order. Thus the temporal proportions

at the cadences discussed are simple and unambiguous. Surely
such clarity is useful, even necessary, for successful cadences.

That Fibonacci durations reveal their properties readily to the

ear when placed in series order is demonstrated by "Pianogra-
phy: Fantasy on a Theme of Fibonacci" by Richard Bunger. *38
In contrast to the Nono and Stockhausen works, Pianography
uses the Fibonacci durations mostly in their natural or retro-
grade orders. When we hear at the beginning the Fibonacci
durations from 1 to 55 played against their retrograde in two
essentially pitchless voices, we understand the material the-
matically and as the source of various proportions to come.
The Fibonacci proportions arise in many contexts in the piece,
but the temporal identity is always clear. (The piece is thus
well named, for the Fibonacci series is indeed the theme.) I
would not claim that only the Fibonacci series can produce a
sequence of durations with such a clear identity that it allows
various passages of very different pitch, registral, and timbral
content to be heard as thematic variations; but the additive and
proportional properties of the Fibonacci series give it an in-
ternal consistency and attractiveness that make it a better can-
didate for thematic pervasiveness than any randomly chosen
series of durations.

IV. EXAMPLES OF FIBONACCI PITCH STRUCTURES

1. Bart6k

Lendvai divides Bart6k's pitch structures into two worlds - the

diatonic and the chromatic. The chromatic, he claims, con-
sists of chords, scales, and melodies whose pitches come from
the Fibonacci series (by identifying a given interval by the num-
ber of semitones it contains). As with Lendvai's theories of
Bart6k's temporal proportions, these claims are not as univer-
sal or significant as Lendvai seems to imply. His examples,
though numerous enough to convince us that he is basically
correct, are removed from context in ways to suggest greater
importance than they often actually have. Also, the Fibonacci
derivation of pitch structures is not always evident in Bart6k's
chromatic music, so Lendvai's theories are hardly universal.

For a fuller appreciation of these theories, refer to Lendvai's

book B6la Bart6k: an Analysis of His Music (see Reference
22). In Example 8 I will simply list some of the typical Bart6k
Fibonacci pitch structures. These structures are more a mat-
ter of compositional technique than a theoretically significant
 133

EXA M PLE TYPICAL

BARTOK FIBONACCI
PITCH
STRUCTURES

Major-Minor Chord 3+5+3, 1 "

also with added seventh -
-%
3+3+2+3

Two Diminished Seventh I*_

%
Chords 3+3+3+2+3+3+3 _ ,
(or many possible subsets)

Chord 5+1+5 [*39]

. _

Scale 1+3+1+3+1

Octatonic Scale 1+2+1+2+1+2+1 0

.

Whole- Tone
Scale.
2+2+2+2+2

Open-Position Augmented
Triad 8+8

Fourth Chord
5+5+5+...
134

aspect of Bart6k's music. Bart6k may well have derived such

pitch structures from the same series that he sometimes used
for durational proportions, but this identity is ultimately irrel-
evant. It cannot be perceived nor can any consequences of it
be perceived, mainly because the pitch structures use only the
Fibonacci values 1, 2, 3, 5, and occasionally 8. Lendvai's
examples are more likely to be heard as a stylistic predilection
for avoiding interval 4 (major third) than as a combination of
Fibonacci intervals 1, 2, 3, and 5. (The few cases where 8 is
included are more likely to be perceived as golden mean or
additive subdivisions of a small segment of registral space.)

A more significant, though rarer, use of Fibonacci pitch struc-

tures in Bart6k occurs when he relates the total range of vari-
ous prominent melodic statements to golden mean proportions.
For example, the following prominent themes in the first
movement of the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (Exam-
ple 9) expand according to the Fibonacci series: first "tonic"
statement of introduction motive (range of 8, subdivided by the
"tonic" note C into 5 + 3), main theme (range of 13, subdivided
5 + 8), second theme (range of 13, not subdivided). Lendvai
gives an unconvincing expansion to 21: the excerpt really has
a range of 14 until the final quarter note (miscopied as an eighth
note). Also, the second theme analysis involves omission of
several grace notes, a fact Lendvai conveniently neglects to
mention. (The grace notes increase the range to 20, almost
a Fibonacci number). As with his Fibonacci duration analy-
ses, Lendvai tries to make more of his observations than they
deserve, but there is an essential truth. What is significant
about the expansion of ranges in Example 9 is that such parti-
tioning of registral space is perceptible, and in context it can
be heard as a projection into registral space of the golden
mean temporal proportions that pervade this work. -:40

2. Others

As can be seen from the foregoing discussion of Bart6k's

Fibonacci pitch structures, for the Fibonacci series to have
any pitch meaning it must be applied to pitche s, not pitch classes
(PCs). If we were to reduce the Ficonacci numbers modulo
12, the musical properties I have discussed would be lost:*41

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 1 9 10 7 5 0 5 5

Thus Fibonacci pitch structures are limited to registrally

frozen pitches. Once we utilize the higher numbers of the
series, which are necessary to make audible the golden mean
 135

EXAMPLE

FIBONACCI RANGE EXPANSION IN PRINCIPAL THEMES

OF FIRST MOVEMENT OF Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

Intro

Theme I
Iof- I - 4

1 f3
," 7, , Wail
.-,4Ft I •
. ... ..i .. . ---!4
' ; ---

Theme 2
UF
. L
..t"
j ..r , I "l "I " - I"LM
I
I... .. -,

14T
136

partitioning of registral space, there is not much register left

in which to move the fixed interval structure (at least in com-
position for traditional instruments).

One composer who has worked successfully within such limita-

tions, however, is Don Walker. *42 Walker establishes as-
cending and descending Fibonacci sets, such as those shown in
Example 10. The principal variable is the interval between
the lowest pitch of the ascending half-set and the highest pitch
of the descending half-set, which I shall call the interval of
separation. In what I call a primary set, the intervals of sep-
aration are Fibonacci intervals Fn (since both pieces that use
this system involve the piano, I take the piano keyboard as a
convenient range limit; this limits Fn to 21, which, interest-
ingly, provides a set that extends from the very lowest to the
very highest piano pitches); in derived sets the ascending half-
set is some Fibonacci number FJ higher than the upper half-set
in some primary set, and, also, the descending half-set is
lower than the descending half-set of the same primary set. F-
The piano range allows sets of up to 16 members (this means
the largest interval between adjacent pitches of the set is 13;
expansion of this limit to 21 would give sets of total range at
least 108, while the piano range contains 87 semitones), so
there are bound to be some PC duplications; also, in every
case but one, there are PC omissions. Thus, by choosing Fn
and (where appropriate) Fj the composer can regulate the
amount of PC redundancy. This is particularly helpful in
pieces, such as many by Walker, in which different style sys-
tems are used within the same composition.

Walker first used this Fibonacci pitch system in "Business

Music, " the final segment of Komm Sitsser Tod, for narrator,
violin, clarinet, and piano. Since this movement is a satire
on Stockhausen's music, Walker chose to derive every par-
ameter from the Fibonacci series. In a later, more serious
work - the Sixth Piano Sonata - Walker used a different primary
set (see Example 11) to get different results. Both the set of
Example 10 and that of Example 11 have interesting properties.
In Example 10, the center of inversion (C) is omitted (this is
the only primary set for which this is true, and there is only
one such derived set - see Example 13), as is its tritone (F#).
In Example 11 the set has the unique property of having no PC
omissions, so that a totally chromatic texture is possible (when
a pseudo-twelve-tone style is the aim, Walker treats PC dupli-
cations or triplications as alternatives - in any given passage
he will use only one of the Cs and only one of the Gs); also,
the C and G are triplicated, so a quasi-tonal context can be
 137

EXAMPLE

10 SET USED IN "Business Music"

5
8 3

S17w L -

11 SET USED IN Sixth Piano Sonata

8 13 L
2 3

Of 1
=:Wn
133

suggested by emphasizing these fifth-related PCs by octave

doubling and tripling.

There are 22 possible intervals of separation within the piano

range (there are, of course, many more sets, provided by
transpositions). Obviously the properties (i.e., which PCs
are omitted, which duplicated, which triplicated, which quad-
ruplicated) of the sets are the same for intervals of separation
12-22 as for 0-10, so we need consider only twelve sets. The
properties of these twelve sets are summarized in Examples
12 and 13. The highest pitch of the descending half-set is des-
ignated Q, and the interval of separation for primary sets is
Fn. Therefore the lowest ascending pitch is Q + Fn. To trans-
pose, change Q. To obtain a derived set, raise the ascending
half-set by any Fibonacci number Fj and lower the descending
half-set by Fj. This procedure may be repeated, by adding
Fj + F+1 + . . . . Therefore the interval of separation in a
de rive set is F, + 2(F + Fj+1 + . . .). To obtain the kth as-
cending pitch in a primary set, calculate

k
(Q + Fn) + ' Fm where k< 7
m=1

To obtain the kth descending term in a primary set, calculate

k
Q - E F where k< 7
m=1

To obtain the kth ascending term in a derived set, calculate

k
[(Q + Fn) + (Fj + Fj+1 + + L Fm where k5 7
m= 1

To obtain the kth descending term in a derived set, calculate

k
[Q - (Fj + Fj+1 + Fm where
- m=1 kAS7
. .

In Example 10, Q is B below middle C and Fn = 2. In Example

11, Q is G below middle C and Fn = 5. In Example 14 I show
a derived set. Here Q is Bb below middle C, Fn = 2, and Fj =
1 (or Fn = 0 and F = 1 and F.+1 = 1 - the actual set derivathon
can be made clear contextually). Notice, by the way, that the
 139

EXAMPLE 12
PRIMARY WALKER SETS

interval of PCs PCs PCs PCs

separation omitted duplicated triplicated quadruplicated

0 Q+6 Q-4 Q
Q+4

1 Q-5 Q-4
Q+6 Q-2
Q
Q+1
Q+3
Q+5

2 Q-5 Q-1
Q+l Q
Q+2
Q+3

3 Q-3 Q-2 Q
Q+1 Q-1 Q+3
Q+2 Q+4
Q+6 Q+5

5 none Q
Q+5

8 Q-5 Q-2 Q-4

Q+1 Q+3 Q
Q+2 Q+4
Q+6 Q+5

13 same as interval of separation 1

(1 mod 12)

21 Q-5 Q-3
(9 mod 12) Q+2 Q-2
Q-1
Q
Q+4
Q+5
 140

EXAM PLE DERIVED SETS

WALKER-TYPE

13 interval of
separation
PCs
omitted
PCs
duplicated
PCs
triplicated
(mod 12)*45

4 Q-5 Q-4 Q
Q-3 Q-1 Q+4
Q+2 Q+5

6 Q-3 Q-5
Q-3
Q-1
Q+l
Q+4

7 Q+l Q-5
Q+6 Q-4
Q-1
Q
Q+3
Q+4

10 Q-3 Q-2
Q+1 Q-1
Q
Q+5

11 Q-3 Q-4 Q-4

Q+2 Q+3 Q

14 A DERIVED SET
3 8
1•.

b. L
q-.-
 141

set in Example 14 is particularly useful for creating a pseudo-

tonal context, since the major third Bb-D is available in many
places (both these PCs are triplicated) as is its tritone dom-
inant, A-Eb (both PCs of which are duplicated). *43

One further Fibonacci pitch system should be mentioned.

Schillinger, *44 inspired by the "organic" nature of the golden
mean, suggests deriving melodic lines from the Fibonacci
series (and also from other summation series). He freely
makes octave transpositions, so that the proportional and ad-
ditive properties are lost, as is the Fibonacci source of the
resulting melody. Furthermore, he omits terms of the se-
quence (according to a rule for using the first n terms ascend-
ing, then skipping a few terms, and then using the [n+i]th term
to descend). Although he gives no examples other than his
own, he claims that the results are particularly useful and
satisfying. I would not agree or disagree, but the theoretical
bases of Schillinger's suggestions are obscure, and, if the re-
sulting lines are in fact aesthetically pleasing, I suspect that
the Fibonacci series is not the reason.

V. OTHER USES

I do not know of many applications of the Fibonacci series other

than to duration and to pitch. I have generated by computer
sonorities containing only Fibonacci partials with amplitudes
determined by the Fibonacci series, but the results were not
interesting enough to use compositionally.

The young French composer Jean-Claude Eloy has used the

Fibonacci series in a purposefully arbitrary manner. Particu-
larly in his (withdrawn) composition "Macles" he started with
the first few terms of the Fibonacci series, subjected them to
arbitrary arithmetic transformations, and then utilized the re-
sults to determine various parameters. The result more often
than not disguises the Fibonacci source of the controlled para-
metric values; such number games are more useful for what
they avoid than for what they provide. Edward A. Lowman*46
gives a simple example of Eloy's technique, in which the Fi-
bonacci proportions are still somewhat in evidence in the final
parameter (in this case rhythm). *47

No study of the Fibonacci series in contemporary music would

be complete without a mention of "Fibonacci-Mobile" for piano
(four hands) and string quartet by Ernst Krenek. Unfortunately,
despite considerable effort, I was unable to obtain a copy of
this work. All I can offerhere is Krenek's ownbrief statement
142

about the piece. -'48 "Here the individual elements are propor-
tioned according to a section of the Fibonacci series of num-
bers: 2 3 5 8 13 21 34, and again the shorter (faster) and
longer (slower) elements may be combined in many different
ways."

Hugo Norden *49 gives a method of composition in which the

proportional scheme of an entire piece is laid out in advance
of composition according to the Fibonacci and other well-pro-
portioned series. It is then that the composer decides what
parameters are determined by the various series. Unfortun-
ately, Norden gives no examples of music written in this man-
ner, either by himself or others. The method is not unlike
some techniques of Stockhausen, but the stylistic elements
Norden mentions hardly suggest Stockhausen.

From this examination of many musical usages of the Fibonacci

series, we can see that it is indeed a useful compositional
construct. I would not claim that it is necessarily the most
versatile or powerful series for twentieth-century music. But
its various properties make it a reasonable alternative to the
simple geometric and arithmetic series associated with tonal
music. I would not claim, as Hugo Norden does, *"50that "the
more profound the composer the stricter is his application of
[such] proportions in his musical structures. " However, for
those composers who wish to avoid the regularity and period-
icity of the series associated with traditional tonality yet wish
to preserve the same degree of balance and symmetry, the
Fibonacci series provides one way of reaching such a goal.

VI. APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Proof that the Fibonacci series approximates a series of golden

mean partitions.

I 1-x I x
Above is a unit line segment partitioned according to the golden
mean. In other words,

1 x
x 1-x

Or,
 143

x2+ x - 1 = 0

By the quadratic formula,

--1
2

Thus the golden mean ratio, which we will designate R, is

x _ 2 _ V5+1~ _5
R1 1 -x 2
1.618
x 1

Consider a series of line segments constructed according to

the golden mean.

Ib lal
I c
I d ]b1ic
I e I d
e
I f I I
etc.

Thus,

g_f_e_d_c_bR
f e d c b a

Let us choose a numerical value for a that will insure that the
series a, b, c, d, e, f, g, . . will be approximated by the
Fibonacci series. Such a value is (as will be shown)

R
a-

Claim that in the series

R, R2, R3, . . ,
.
Rn.

Rn
the nearest whole number to the nth term - is the nth Fibonacci
number Fn.

To prove this assertion we need Binet's formula, *51 which

states that
144

1+N 1- n

F 2 2
-

We shall show that

Rn 12

and hence the Fn integers are closer to our chosen golden mean
series than any other integers. By Binet's formula,

n
1+Vf 1 n1+-,n 1-4n
2 2 2 2
F Rn
n v'"I
1-v" .
/ - 2.2361, hence --0.618
2

Therefore,

(1 -1n <1

Since V> 2, then surely

Rn 1
n 2

q.e.d.

To prove this another way, we will show that

F F F +
n+1 2 n+2 n (l)n

By induction: it is obviously true for n = 1, since 12 = 2 - 1.

Let us assume that the statement is true for some n = k, and
prove that it is therefore true for n = k + 1.

k+1 k+ 1Fk+ 2= + Fk+ 1Fk+2 + (-)k

Fk+2k
 145

+ Fk+2)= + Fk+) + ()k

Fk+(Fk+1 Fk+2(Fk
By the definition of the Fibonacci series,

+ (-1)k
Fk+1 Fk+3 = Fk+2Fk+2

Or,

= + (- 1)k+1
Fk+2 Fk+1 Fk+3

q.e.d.

Appendix 2

Proof that any two consecutive Fibonacci numbers are relatively

prime. *52

Proof by contradiction. Suppose that Fn and Fn+1 do have

some common divisor d > 1. Then Fn+1 must be divisible by
d. But Fn+1 - Fn = Fn-1. Since Fn-1 is therefore divisible
by d, then Fn - Fn-1 = Fn-2 is divisible by d. And so on until
-
F3 F2 = F1 is divisible by d. But F1 = 1, so F1 cannot be
divisible by d> 1. Therefore having assumed the contrary of
the assertion has led to a contradiction. The assertion is
proved.
14b

REFERENCES

1 Dmitri Thoro (ed.), "Beginners Corner, " Fibonacci Quarterly, I/i (1963), pp.
51, 64.

2 N.N. Vorob'ev, Fibonacci Numbers (New York: Blaisdell, 1961), p.6.

3 Dov Jarden, "On the Periodicity of the Last Digits of the Fibonacci Numbers,"
Fibonacci Quarterly, I/iv (1963), pp. 21-22.

4 Brother Alfred Brousseau, "Ye Olde Fibonacci " Fibonacci

Curiosity Shoppe,
Quarterly, X/iv (1972), pp.441-43.
5 Marjorie Bicknell and Verner E. Hoggatt, Jr., "Golden Triangles, Rectangles,
and Cuboids, " Fibonacci Quarterly, VII/i (1969), p. 73.

6 A. F. Horadam, "Further Appearances of the Fibonacci Sequence, " Fibonacci

Quarterly, I/iv (1963), pp.41-42, 46.
7 Donald A. Preziosi, "Harmonic Design in Minoan Architecture," Fibonacci
Quarterly, VI/vi (1968), pp.370-84, 317.
8 Richard E. M. Moor, "Mosaic Units: Pattern Sizes in Ancient Mosaics, " Fibon-
acci Quarterly, VIII/iii (1970), pp.281-310.

9 Sister Mary de Sales McNabb, "Phyllotaxis," Fibonacci Quarterly, I/iv (1963),

pp.57-60.

10 Philip B. Onderdonk, "Pineapples and Fibonacci Numbers, " Fibonacci Quar-

terly, VIII/v (1970), pp.507-08.
" Fibonacci
11 S. L. Basin, "The Fibonacci Sequence as it Appears in Nature,
Quarterly, I/i (1963), p.53.

12 Ibid., pp.54-55.

13 J. Wlodarski, "The 'Golden Ratio' and the Fibonacci Numbers in the World of
Atoms, " Fibonacci Quarterly, VII/v (1969), pp. 523-24.

14 B.A. Read, "Fibonacci Series in the Solar System, " Fibonacci Quarterly,
VIII/iv (1970), pp.428-38, 448.
15 Leslie E. Blumenson, "A Characterization of the Fibonacci Numbers Suggested
by a Problem Arising in Cancer Research, " Fibonacci Quarterly, X/iii (1972),
p.262.
16 Rolf A. Deininger, "Fibonacci Numbers and Water Pollution Control," Fibonacci
Quarterly, X/iii (1972), pp.299-300, 302.
17 Albert J. Faulconbridge, "Fibonacci Summation Economics Part I," Fibonacci
Quarterly, II/iv (1964), pp. 320-22.
18 Albert J. Faulconbridge, "Fibonacci Summation Economics Part II." Fibonacci
Quarterly, III/iv (1965), pp.309-14.
 147

19 The overtone structure is also governed by the arithmetic series.

20 Stockhausen spoke at length about this in his composition seminar at the Univer-
sity of California at Davis, 1966-67.
21 The difference between the 3:2 series and the golden mean series is the differ-
ence between 3/2 = 1.5 and R = 1.618.

22 "Introduction aux formes et harmonies Bart*kiennes," in Bence Szabolsci(ed.),

Bartdk: sa vie et son oeuvre (Budapest: Corvina, 1956). Also published in
German.
"Duality and Synthesis in the Music of Bela Bartok," New Hungarian Quarterly,
III/vii (1962). Reprinted in Gyorgy Kepes (ed.), Module, Proportion, Sym-
metry, Rhythm (New York: George Braziller, 1966).
Bartok's Style (Budapest: Zenemilkiad6, 1955).
BIla Bartok: an Analysis of His Style (London: Kahn and Averill, 1971).
The most complete exposition of Lendvai's ideas is to be found in the latter.

23 This is of course an oversimplified statement, but I do not want to get into a

detailed analysis of "Allegro Barbaro" here.

24 For this calculation to work out exactly, Lendvai considers the 7-beat notated
silence at the end of the first movement as part of the second movement; none-
theless, the actual partition is remarkably close to the golden mean.

25 Edward A. Lowman, "Some Striking Proportions in the Music of Bl1a Bartok,"

Fibonacci Quarterly, IX/v (1971), p. 528.

26 Since the Universal score has no measure numbers, I will indicate measures
a. b. c for page a, line b, measure c.

27 Thus we can see, incidentally, how such a style presages the composer's sub-
sequent involvement with mobile forms.
28 Note that these triples rarely are in series order or in retrograde series or-
der, which would have rendered the golden mean property of these durations
more readily perceptible.

29 The final measure is omitted from this process - it is a coda to the coda.

30 The next term of this series is 142. The two highest terms recall the puzzling
opening two time signatures (142 and 87), but this relationship is hardly signifi-
cant perceptually.

31 I assume that measure 7. 2. 7 has a note missing, since it contains only 12 attack
points for no apparent reason. Also, a trill is to be considered as a prolonga-
tion of a single attack.

32 Karlheinz Stockhausen, Texte Band 2 (Cologne: M. DuMont Schauberg, 1964),

pp.73-100.
33 Stockhausen explained this in some detail to his composition seminar at the
University of California at Davis, 1966-67.
34 Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Music and Speech," Die Reihe 6(Bryn Mawr: Theodore
Presser, 1964), pp.47-57.
148

35 Gyorgy Ligeti, "Pierre Boulez, " Die Reihe 4 (Bryn Mawr: Theodore Presser,
1960), p.39.

36 There is probably a misprint in the score for Bass 2, measure 110, where the
tied duration should obviously be 1 of a quintuplet, not 1 of a triplet.

37 The second such place provides a striking momentary rhythmic unison. See
Alto 1, Tenor 1, and Bass 1 in mm. 126-27.

38 Richard Bunger is a pianist and composer on the faculty of California State

College at Dominguez Hills.

39 Also used as the principal referential simultaneity in Stockhausen's Klavier-

stilck IX.

40 Lendvai also gives analyses of expanding ranges of principal themes in the

finale of the Divertimento and in the Miraculous Mandarin.

41 No twelve-tone rows, incidentally, can be generated by means of elementary

operations on the Fibonacci numbers mod 12. If we apply the numbers to in-
tervals between successive notes of a potential row, we run into identities at 0
and 144; if we apply the numbers as intervals from some constant PC (using
them + or - as needed to avoid duplications), there are still no possible rows.
This latter assertion can be seen by inspection (a chore of about ten minutes,
if the reader wishes to verify it).

42 Don Walker is a young California-based composer.

43 Walker links his Fibonacci pitch system to Fibonacci temporal proportions in

the Sixth Piano Sonata. He takes the proportional length of each derived pitch
set from the ratios of the Fj + Fj+1 + . . . terms.

44 Joseph Schillinger, The Schillinger System of Musical Composition (New York:

Carl Fischer, 1946), pp. 329-52.

45 For those derived sets whose interval of separation = Fn mod 12 for some n,
refer to Example 12.

46 Edward A. Lowman, 'An Example of Fibonacci Numbers Used to Generate

Rhythmic Values in Modern Music, " Fibonacci Quarterly, IX/iv (1971), pp.
423-26, 436.

47 Eloy also used Fibonacci numbers in a very obvious way in Equivalences, in

which different types of fermatas get values of 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2 1/2, 4, and
6 1/2 seconds respectively.

48 Will Ogdon, "Conversation with Ernst Krenek, " Perspectives of New Music,
X/ii (1972), p.106.

49 Hugo Norden, "Proportions and the Composer, " Fibonacci Quarterly, X/iii
(1972), pp.319-23.

50 Hugo Norden, "Proportions in Music," Fibonacci Quarterly, II/iii (1964),p. 219.

51 N.N. Vorob'ev, Fibonacci Numbers (New York: Blaisdell, 1961), pp.15-20.
52 Adapted from Vorob'ev, p. 30.