Prime Number Listening Guide

(or a noisy introduction to prime number theory)

In these short notes we will introduce a few ways of hearing the primes and use them to hear both the simple patterns (yes, there are some) and the perplexing irregularities of the sequence of primes. I am sorry that not all of you can hear these primes--to hear them will require a method of playing midi files. Fortunately most multimedia computers can do so. Enough “intro,” lets make some primal noises! This listening guide has a half-dozen pages, I suggest you read them in order starting with page one:

• page zero: Why play the primes?
• page one: Primes as notes
• page two: Divide and conquer
• page three: Respite
• page four: Adding tempo
• page five: Conclusion

Of course a guide is a guide to something, and this case it is a guide to the online program that you can use to create your own primal sounds:

• make your own music