Architecture and Egyptian Music
Jill Mattson – Egyptian architecture and music often used the same proportions. Music has been referred to as “frozen architecture,” because you can listen to the sounds that you see in architecture.
In the pre-dynasty era of Egypt (5000 BC to 2575 BC) hundreds of tombs called mastabas were built according to harmonic proportions. Harmonic intervals were used as room dimensions to create the rooms “dominate tone.” In 1880 Mariette from Paris measured 800 mastabas near Abydos, finding that most were built with the proportions of 5/8 (the ratio associated with the interval of a minor sixth) and the Golden rectangle. [1]
Many other structures also incorporated the golden proportion, [2] such as the height to base dimension of the great pyramid of Cheops. [3] As early as 5,000 BC the Egyptians were using harmonics and sacred math. [4]
Four thousand five hundred years ago the Egyptians were using the Fibonacci [5] series of numbers in the dimensions of their buildings (Fibonacci was credited with the discovery of these patterns, but he was born in 1179 AD). The Fibonacci numbers were also used in measuring the proportions of human drawings. Drawings survive with these dimensions marked to measure human proportions. These proportions can be measured in their hieroglyph writings as well.
The resonant pitch of a room can be determined by playing music in temples and observing which one tone is richer and enhanced. Throughout some rooms the enhanced notes form a scale. As one walks the length of the temples the dominant harmonic rises in pitch. According to Ani Williams, at one end of the Abydos temple the lower tones sound stronger.
As you move through the temple, energy stirs the root chakra and works up through the rest of the major chakras until it reaches your crown chakra. [6] By walking the length of the temple you entrain the resonant subtle sounds which can softly transport you to a specific state of consciousness.
Sharry Edwards, who discovered the science of BioAcoustics [7] provides clues regarding shapes of rooms and what sounds they enhance. For example, a square room produces a frequency of a C. When singing in a square room, a C will increase in volume so much that it appears to sing back to you. Other notes in a square room will not. In a parallel manner, the volume of a D increases in a room that is nine by eight feet. The pattern given to me by Sharry [8] is below:
Shapes and Sounds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch | Natural Harmonic Scale Ratios | Dimensions of the Room | ||
| C | 1 | Square (1) | ||
| D | 9/8 | 18 x 16 | ||
| E | 5/4 | 10 x 8 | ||
| F | 4/3 | 8 x 6 | ||
| G | 3/2 | 6 x 4 | ||
| A | 5/3 | 10 x 6 | ||
| B | 15/8 | 30 x 16 | ||
| In between B-C | Circle | |||
Many dimensions and proportions found in the ancient Egyptian temples correspond to harmonious musical intervals, such as octaves, fifths, fourths, thirds and sixths. For example, in the temple of Horus, the ratio of one chamber’s width to height is 2:3, which is the ratio of a musical fifth. The ratio of another chamber’s height to width is 3:4, which is the ratio of a musical fourth. [9] Dr. James Hurtak, [10] author and scholar of ancient texts, indicated that temples were designed with resonance in mind.
[1] A golden rectangle has side lengths in the golden ratio, approximately 1:1.618. A distinctive feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the remainder is another golden rectangle; that is, with the same proportions as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, in which case corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic spiral. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
[2] Two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.6180339887. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
[3] Merrick, Richard. Interference: A Grand Scientific Musical Theory, Merrick: Texas, 2002, Pg. 30.
[4] Gadalla, Moustafa. Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music, Tehuti Research Foundation: Greensboro, N.C., 2000, Pg. 136.
[5] The Fibonacci numbers are a series of numbers in which any two neighboring numbers equals the next number in the series. For example, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… Forms in nature are often equated with these numerical patterns.
[6] Interview with Ani Williams, aniwilliams.com. Mattson, Jill. Ancient Sounds Modern Healing, Wings of Light: Oil City, PA., 2009, Pgs. 121-130.
[7] More information about Sharry Edwards: Mattson, Jill. Secret Sounds ~ Ultimate Healing: Your Personal Guide to a Better Life using Sharry Edward’s Revolutionary “Secret Sounds,” Wings of Light: Oil City, PA, 2011, available at www.jillswingsoflight.com. Also see Nutrasounds.com, www.soundhealthinc.com, nanoVoice.org
SF Source Jill Mattson Feb 2025