Konnakol Music and Maths

Konnakol is the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in Carnatic music. Carnatic music has a large oral tradition. Sollutkuttu refers to the mix of Konnakol and the beating of the hand to keep up the metre. Each tala (meter) can be recited vocally. Research shows that most Carnatic music follows a deep mathematical inner logic in melodic movements.

The mathematical elements of Carnatic music can be shown through how the time signature never changes during a piece. Talas may be added but it is on the same baseline time signature. When speed is increased it is always done in perfect multiples of the original beat. This becomes intriguing because it allows us to trace mathematical concepts within music.

A video by Konnakol and Mridangam musician B.C. Manjunath has become viral around the world. It shows how Konnakol can emulate the fibonacci sequence. In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted Fn, form a sequence, called the Fibonacci sequence, such that each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, starting from 0 and 1. Fibonacci’s sequence is special because it is found everywhere, in art, architecture, design, trees, shells, hurricanes, galaxies and of course in music. Manjunath uses the Konnakol to show the consistency of the sequence:

However, Konnakol shows much more complex mathematics. It uses mathematics to create complex polyrhythms, geometric patterns and metric modulations. For example, Yati in Carnatic Music are expanding or decreasing syllabic patterns that, when written down, create a geometric shape. While music is often thought to be subjective, Carnatic music sets itself apart where every change in beat or rhythm can be mathematically traced.