"I’d also just like to see if Peter Engel perhaps would tell us a bit more. I think in Folding the Universe you quote Yoshizawa on the same subject… and Arthur L Loeb mentions music in the introduction too.
Peter it would be interesting if you can remember - was there a conversation with Yoshizawa specifically on this subject? Did you arrive at this idea together or independently? . . . Here’s a Yoshizawa quote from Peter’s book: “Learning those traditional models is just like playing music written by other composers, and origami books are still like that. But it's very hard to go from that style into free and creative origami. It's not a matter of time. People who can't create won't create, even if they spend the whole of their lives.” —Lee Armstrong ______________ Hi Lee, I’m delighted that you’re familiar with Folding the Universe, including the Foreword by my wonderful professor and mentor, Arthur Loeb. I reread my interview with Yoshizawa (it’s been a long time) and found these references to music in addition to the one you quote: “Of course it helps to start young. To be a composer, for example, the child needs exposure to music, though it doesn’t mean he himself has to be a good piano player.” “When I do origami, I listen to nature, not with these ears but with the ears of my heart.” The second is not strictly about music, but it’s very clear that Yoshizawa drew inspiration from everything around him in both the natural and human-made world. In his Foreword, Arthur Loeb mentions music in reference to the text in my book. Loeb was truly a polymath, highly accomplished as a musician, dancer, crystallographer, mathematician, and overall synthesizer of many disciplines. He used to demonstrate to us the connection between folk-dancing and the geometry of crystals, which seemed like a bit of a stretch until he graphically analyzed for us the patterns made by people moving around the dance floor. Loeb was a good friend of M.C. Escher’s during Loeb’s early years in the Netherlands and of Buckminster Fuller's during Loeb’s long tenure at Harvard. I encourage everyone to google him to learn more. In conclusion, it is hardly surprising to me that many people with diverse interests in the arts and sciences would recognize the strong connection between origami and music. Best, Peter
