VISUAL MUSIC
I developed a visual language for music to reveal patterns in melody, harmony, and rhythm. I wanted to be able to see how music is put together so I could understand its emotional power. Interpreting music as coloured shapes was an idea I had in a moment of inspiration, when I imagined a colour wheel rolling along a piano keyboard.
You can see how patterns show up again and again in the visual music. Repetition of patterns is one of the tools composers use to set up musical expectations, then defy, delay and finally fulfill them. That fulfillment explains a small part of our passion for music.
You can see how patterns show up again and again in the visual music. Repetition of patterns is one of the tools composers use to set up musical expectations, then defy, delay and finally fulfill them. That fulfillment explains a small part of our passion for music.
To see how the music and animation match up, wait for the first slice of pie to appear and hit play right away.
|
"Rose Red" is an English folk song sung in a round (like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat") that creates its own harmony. In this animation, the rings represent the four voices. I created it for the Become Become Artist Residency in Sardinia in 2018. I taught the song to the audience and we sang it in four-part harmony in time to the animation. They loved it! My audiences in Spain and Ireland also loved it.
|
The visual music in the following images are from different genres: Classical, Romantic, African Drumming, Contemporary Classical, Film Score, and Rock.
VISUAL MUSIC BEAD TAPESTRIES
|
|
|
|
I used tens of thousands of tiny glass beads to weave five Visual Music pieces into tapestries. They were compositions by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Debussy. The Bach Invention is the only one left. Contact me on the contact form for more information about purchasing.
|
|
|
The different colours and textures of the beads provided great scope to express different aspects of the music.
|
For example, I differentiated the two melodies in the Bach Invention with matte and shiny beads.
|
|
|
I took advantage of the qualities of beads in the Beethoven sonata as well. I assigned shades of blue to every note except the predominant one (the one that sticks out from the rest and makes you cry). That note is represented with 24k gold-coated glass beads. I was evoking the description, "moonlight on water", made by a music critic of the time. The internet said this is how the sonata got its nickname--the Moonlight Sonata.
|
|
Photos by Maline Campbell
Ryan Molloy kindly provided me with this feedback:
"... with this [colour] scheme it becomes clear how strongly D-centric this passage is and also how much C (or surrounding inflections) gravitates around that pitch. This highlights an interval of a minor 7th which I've long been very close to and I've known it influences my music but this actually flags it up in black and white! (Or in Red and Blue in this case!)"
"... with this [colour] scheme it becomes clear how strongly D-centric this passage is and also how much C (or surrounding inflections) gravitates around that pitch. This highlights an interval of a minor 7th which I've long been very close to and I've known it influences my music but this actually flags it up in black and white! (Or in Red and Blue in this case!)"
