LO 04: Sound Art

The project ‘FORMS – String Quartet’ by Playmodes is a live performance of a string quartet and EDM music that projects to the visual sonification of the music. It uses real-time music to transcribe into a series of visual graphic notations in the form of lines, circles, curves, and other shapes. I think visualizing music is intriguing and the patterns of music can generate different forms of lines and representation that is also beautiful. This can really help those who are hard of hearing or may prefer visual experiences more where people may also be able to hear what they see. The visual graphics the music produces also seem to tell a story about what the music is like and it is able to isolate each instrument used in the song. This reminds me of the way EDM concerts have light shows that follow the patterns and beats in the music to create a more immersive experience. The visuals can also be transformed into music. The software that makes the graphics was coded in Processing and the image sonification was done in Max/MSP. The algorithm that makes it is able to isolate each instrument or rhythm and transform it into visuals and the other way around, whatever is on the screen can be translated into music.

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