Talk:Vincenzo Galilei

Tension vs. frequency is linear
The article says: "It is possible that in establishing the relation between the tension on a string and its frequency of vibration he was the first to discover a non-linear physical law." According to, Vincenzo Galilei used weights to discover that the ratio of tensions of 4:1 produced the octave (not 2:1, which had previously been thought). That's a linear function, not a non-linear function. In other words, the graph of (frequency=(tension/2)), is a straight line. I'm putting a fact tag after that sentence. I'm also suspicious about "If Vincenzo made this discovery and expressed it using the language of mathematics, this would be an important generalization of the long-understood discovery of the pythagoreans that whole numbers (mathematics) determine harmonic scales." First, it reads like the editor is unsure; second, the idea that tension and frequency are related says nothing about the preference of musical intervals, and since Vincenzo Galilei disproved an older idea, it could be that he disproved an idea of the pythagoreans. A fact tag goes there too. -- Another Stickler (talk) 09:46, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Grove reference is inaccurate
I have used the Grove Dictionary of Music many times and can attest to its accuracy. However, for the quote provided about Vincenzo Galilei, the dictionary errs in its description of the relationship between pitch (frequency) and string tension. This is not altogether surprising, given that its editors are experts in music history rather than physics. For a string fixed at both ends, the velocity of a wave is proportional to frequency: $$v=\frac{nf}{4\lambda}$$, where n is the harmonic number, f is frequency, and λ is the wavelength. The velocity of a wave in a string is also affected by the string's material properties, such that the wave velocity is proportional to the square root of tension and inversely proportional to the square root of the linear density (mass per unit length): $$v=\sqrt{\frac{T}{\mu}}$$, where T is the string tension and μ is the linear density. It follows, therefore, that the frequency of a plucked string is proportional to the square root of tension. I teach physics, and both textbooks that I use (Tipler: Physics for Engineers and Scientists and Halliday Resnick & Walker: Fundamentals of Physics) have frequency proportional to the square root of tension. Furthermore, Wikipedia's page on Galileo Galilei has the correct relationship between frequency and square root of tension. If you would like an online reference instead of a reference to a Physics textbook, this website has a good discussion of tension and frequency for piano strings: http://pianomaker.co.uk/technical/string_formulae/ This quote taken from the article is correct as it stands: In the case of strings tuned in a perfect fifth, weights suspended from them needed to be in a ratio of 9:4 to produce the 3:2 perfect fifth. The square root of $$\frac{9}{4}$$ is equal to $$\frac{3}{2},$$ corresponding to the square root of the tension ratio being equal to the frequency ratio. Jdlawlis (talk) 21:08, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Other interesting references
The following online books/dissertations may provide more useful background on Vincenzo Galilei's contributions to acoustic theory:

Jdlawlis (talk) 15:53, 25 August 2009 (UTC)
 * http://www.scribd.com/doc/10552289/Habits-of-Knowledge
 * http://books.google.com/books?id=yjH_c3KQ3yMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Vmavanti (talk) 19:13, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * See also the album The Well Tempered Lute by Zak Ozmo.

Birth place
Other sources say Florence, not Santa Maria a Monte (which is near Florence).Vmavanti (talk) 19:09, 23 February 2019 (UTC)
 * There are 28 miles between the two. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C4:7C87:4F00:DC82:503:3851:1F2 (talk) 14:15, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Date of Birth
What is the source for 3. April 1520 ? The standard references gave "around 1520".--Claude J (talk) 10:52, 30 January 2022 (UTC)

Equal temperament versus well temperament
This article says


 * "Galilei anticipated Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier in promoting well temperament (not equal temperament)."

while the article [equal temperament] says


 * Some of the first Europeans to advocate equal temperament were lutenists Vincenzo Galilei, Giacomo Gorzanis, and Francesco Spinacino, all of whom wrote music in it. [15][16][17][18]

So, what is it? Did Vincenzo Galilei advocate equal temperament, well temperament or both?
 * Equal, as it is standard on lutes.-Aristophile (talk) 15:04, 25 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Players of fretted string instruments have had little choice other than ET ever since the 'Rule of 18' was adopted by European luthiers - and even before that in the Orient. Wokepedian (talk) 08:55, 15 January 2024 (UTC)

his "son"
Are we to assume this son to be Galileo and not Michelagnolo? Wokepedian (talk) 08:44, 15 January 2024 (UTC)