Representing Music with Visual Space and Color

Ryan McGee MUS 274 | Winter 2010 Introduction Visual space has been accepted as an analog to musical pitch [1]. The most obvious example of this relationship may be reading a musical score. As the positions of the notes move vertically up or down over time, the musician responds by playing pitches of ascending or descending frequency. Now, consider auditory space. In traditional music scores there may be placement of the performers, but there is no notation or consideration for the spatialization of sound. However, spatialization is a dimension used heavily by composers of computer and electronic music. If visual space relates to musical pitch, then what is a visual representation for auditory space? Do visual spatial movements relate to auditory space as well as these movements relate to pitch? Does visual color relate to pitch as strongly as visual space? Answers to these questions are not only relevant to music but also impact the fields of sonification and visual music.