Lady Gaga Channels Bach by way of Fibonacci

Lady Gaga is a consummate performer and a smart composer. She’s a Julliard-trained pianist, after all. Gaga has pulled a neat compositional trick out of the bag for the video below, the title song from her new album, Perfect Illusion. It’s likely she learned about it at Julliard when she studied the work of JS Bach, Beethoven, and other classical composers who use this trick a lot, because it results in beautiful and satisfying creations.

Check out the video, and be ready for the key change at the 111-second mark (or 1:51). Why then? Bach did it, but the reason for it goes back even further, to ancient India.

Learn why after the song.

This is just as static image. If you’ve not seen Lady Gaga perform before, check out the video at the end of the post.

So here’s the trick: That exact spot in the tune happens at a precise point that corresponds to .618, a ratio that we humans find particularly attractive and satisfying. So much so that it’s called “The Golden Ratio.” Lots of composers use it. Here are 5 examples from classical music.

That ratio shows up everywhere, in both living and non-living systems, in things we find particularly beautiful. That proportion is just just one node of a Fibonacci sequence. Here are some examples of the sequence:

The classic example of a Nautilus shell

A Well-formed Ear

Physics

 

Plant Growth:  A Chamomile Flower

and even Galaxy Formation

Pretty smart. Here’s the promised video showing more evidence of Gaga’s sensibilities.