Music is an almost universal cultural phenomenon, but we’re only able to enjoy it thanks to the physical properties of sound and the world we live on. In association with the landmark docuseries For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music, this evening will take a look at some unique physics of sound through two short talks.
Acclaimed science writer Philip Ball will ask, is our musical scale just a matter of physics? Is it a bunch of arbitrary decisions or is it defined by the harmonic series and by perfect ratios of frequencies? Can you determine a different temperament just by ear?
Physicist, oceanographer and 2020 Christmas Lecturer Helen Czerski will be talking about the unique way sound works in an underwater environment, and how on a recent field trip to Africa she worked with locals using the science of acoustics to protect hippopotamuses and their underwater conversations.
In addition, award winning director Trent Burton will be giving a brief introduction and celebration of the docuseries itself, explaining about how we go about separating sound from music.
Approximate running times:
Trent Burton - 10 minutes
Helen Czerski - 25 minutes
Philip Ball - 25 minutes
Q&A - 30 minutes
For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music is a new, landmark, nine part docuseries from the team at The Cosmic Shambles Network. Presented by Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts, Taskmaster) the series explores the entire history of music from The Big Bang to AI and everything in between. Over ten hours, and featuring over 100 exclusive interviews with the world’s best musicians, historians and scientists, this series is truly one of a kind.
Event presented in collaboration with Kings Place Music Foundation and The Cosmic Shambles Network.
Event type
This is a theatre only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre.
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About Helen Czerski 2026
Helen Czerski is a former Christmas Lecturer, physicist and oceanographer with a passion for investigating the interesting things in life. She is Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UCL, where she studies the physics of breaking waves and bubbles at the ocean surface.
As a regular science presenter on the BBC for ten years, Helen has covered the physics of the natural world in BBC2 landmark documentaries, and of everyday life in a range of BBC4 documentaries. Helen is also a regular contributor to Horizon, and presented the BBC show ‘Ocean Autopsy’, examining the damage that humans have caused to the ocean and its habitants.
About Philip Ball
Philip Ball is a freelance writer and broadcaster, and was an editor at Nature for more than twenty years. He writes regularly in the scientific and popular media and has written many books on the interactions of the sciences, the arts, and wider culture, including 'The Music Instinct', 'H2O: A Biography of Water', 'Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour', and 'Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything'.
Philip's book 'Critical Mass' won the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. He is also a presenter of Science Stories, the BBC Radio 4 series on the history of science. He trained as a chemist at the University of Oxford and as a physicist at the University of Bristol. He is the author of 'The Modern Myths' and lives in London.
Timing
Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.
Accessibility
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The closest underground station is Green Park, which is step-free.
There is space at floor level in the theatre for wheelchair users.
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Our theatre is equipped with an Audio Induction Loop.
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