In an article for Science magazine, Kerry Klein reveals the results of a Max Planck Institute study, which demonstrated fractals, or patterns that look “self-similar” on many different scales.
A team headed up by physicist Holger Hennig analyzed the timekeeping of legendary drummer Jeff Porcaro – specifically, his recorded performance on Michael McDonald’s classic song, “I Keep Forgettin’.” What they found was that both Porcaro’s 16th-note rhythms AND dynamic volumes varied throughout the piece (although nearly unnoticeable to the human ear), and that those variations formed fractals.
“It seems that the timekeeper in the brain not only produces fractal timing,” Hennig says, “but likely also fractal intensity or, in this case, loudness.”
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