Influenced by synesthesia, the creators of such ‘visual musics’ as abstract art, color organs, abstract film, and most recently visualizers, have attempted to illustrate correspondences between the senses. This thesis attempts to develop a framework for music visualization founded on emotional analogues between visual art and music. The framework implements audio signal spectrum analysis, mood modeling, and color theory to produce pertinent data for use in visualizations. The research is manifest as a computer program that creates a simple visualizer. Built in Max/MSP/Jitter, a programming environment especially for musical and multimedia processing, it analyzes data and produces images in real-time. The program employs spectrum analysis to extract musical data such as loudness, brightness, and note attacks from the audio signals of AIFF song files. These musical features are used to calculate the Energy and Stress of the song, which determine the general mood of the music. The mood can fall into one of the four general categories of Exuberance, Contentment, Depression, and Anxious/Frantic. This method of automatic mood classification resulted in an eighty-five percent accuracy rate. Applying color expression theory yields a color palette that reflects the musical mood. The color palette and the musical features are then supplied to four different animation schemes to produce visuals. The visualizer generates shapes and forms in a three-dimensional environment and animates them in response to the real-time musical data. The visualizer allows user input to actively direct the creation of a variety of different visualizations. This personalization of the synesthetic effects of the visualizer invites the viewer to actively consider his or her own unique associations and facilitates understanding of the phenomenon of synesthesia and sensory fusion.

This thesis discusses my new sound drawing practice and its development throughout the course of my practice-based PhD research at Brunel School of Arts. “Sound drawing” is a general term that I have chosen to use to describe a body of visual artworks that instigated the composition of soundscapes as well as the design of an audiovisual performance instrument. I will start by giving a clear picture of the musical and visual arts background that led up to my current sound drawing practice. Then I will go through the individual works created between 2008 and 2012 that have contributed the most to the development of sound drawing. I will discuss how performance sketches ... (2009) instigated the shift from composing graphic scores to sound drawing when I was confronted with drawing my graphic scores in real time. In 31 (sound) studies on paper (2010-2011), the sound drawing process began to mature through a closer examination of the visual imagery, drawing materials, physical gestures and the overall sound production. As I started to develop solo performance projects based on my sound drawing practice, I looked back to the compositions projection-reaction (2008-2009) and de (re)construction (2009) which suggested how I might return to using the medium of video. My most recent work, drawalineandlistentoit and R=15 (2012), seems to constitute a point where all the different strands in my works of the preceding four years come together to produce an intricate collaboration between sound, image and performer. Working with the sound drawings within a performance context, a registration of the sonic event occurs, a form of score is created – and at the same time sound is mixing and moving into the space through the audio software Plogue Bidule, while a visual projection is constructed in realtimev through the VPT software.

Thesis (MDram)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is aimed at providing useful insights into the field of audiovisual perception and understanding in South African children’s programmes, as well as demonstrating how the Congruence-Associationist framework can be of use when investigating these aspects. Music serves as an important element in children’s television programmes, as it is often used to subconsciously stimulate the viewers’ senses. The purpose of this study is to provide a more complete image of the role of music within the context of South African children’s television programmes from 1976 − 1994, using ethnographic research with a focus on case studies. In the first part of the study, a base is formed for analysing music by addressing general roles of music in audiovisual context, as well as children’s development of musical perception and a possible clarification of its origins. Its origins appear to be closely related to language and could explain why music fulfils such a significant role in a variety of interactive contexts. The Congruence-Associationist framework by Annabel Cohen is used as a suitable framework of analysis of music in children’s television by adapting and expanding it into three sections: the observation phase, the interpretation phase and the results phase. In the second part of the study, case studies and scene analyses of six selected children’s programmes are conducted, according to the three sections of the adapted framework of analysis. The findings indicate that music functions in multiple ways according to the focus of the programme, and that it fulfils an appealing and recognisable role in these programmes. It is argued that music serves to support the visuals on screen, influences the general interpretation of the viewer and ultimately provides understanding while facilitating learning. This information could be used in a variety of subjects, thus opening up endless possibilities for further research into the multiple roles of music. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is daarop gerig om nuttige insigte op die gebied van oudiovisuele persepsie en begrip in Suid-Afrikaanse kinderprogramme te verskaf, asook aan te toon hoe die ooreenstemmings-assosiatiewe raamwerk (Congruence-Associationist framework) van Annabel Cohen van nut kan wees wanneer hierdie aspekte ondersoek word. Musiek dien as ‘n belangrike element in die kindertelevisieprogramme, aangesien dit dikwels gebruik word om onbewustelik die sintuie van die betrokke kykers te stimuleer. Hierdie studie poog om ‘n meer volledige beeld van die rol van musiek te verskaf binne die konteks van Suid-Afrikaanse kindertelevisieprogramme vanaf 1976 − 1994. Dit word gedoen met behulp van etnografiese navorsing met ‘n fokus op gevallestudies. In die eerste deel van die studie word ‘n basis gevorm vir die analise van musiek, deur die algemene rol van musiek binne oudiovisuele konteks te bespreek, asook die ontwikkeling van kinders se musikale waarnemingsvermoë en ‘n moontlike verduideliking van die oorsprong van musiek. Die oorsprong van musiek blyk verwant te wees aan taal en kan moontlik die rede wees waarom musiek so ‘n belangrike rol in ‘n verskeidenheid interaktiewe kontekste speel. Die ooreenstemmings-assosiatiewe raamwerk word gebruik as ‘n geskikte raamwerk van ontleding vir musiek in kindertelevisie deur dit aan te pas en in drie afdelings uit te brei, naamlik die waarnemingsfase, die interpretasiefase en die resultaatfase. In die tweede deel van die studie word gevallestudies en toneelontledings van ses gekose kinderprogramme gedoen volgens die drie afdelings van die aangepaste ontledingsraamwerk. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat musiek op vele maniere funksioneer, afhangende van die fokus van die program, terwyl dit ook ‘n aantreklike en identifiseerbare rol in hierdie programme vervul. Daar word aangevoer dat musiek dien om die visuele beeld te ondersteun, die algemene interpretasie van die kyker te beïnvloed en uiteindelik begrip te verskaf terwyl die leerproses vergemaklik word. Hierdie inligting sou gebruik kon word in ‘n verskeidenheid onderwerpe wat weer eindelose moontlikhede vir verdere navorsing in die veelvuldige rolle van musiek blootlê.

This thesis examines how visual music in Swedish silent film served as an allusion to sound, either as a cinematic effect or as an intertwined part of the film narrative. Drawing on the concepts of synaesthesia and visual music, a discussion on how both concepts relate to each other serves as the key method for analyzing a selection of films. By defining synaesthesia in relation to concepts such as Gesamtkunstwerk and photogénie, the analysis examines different synaesthetic expressions through visual music in Swedish silent film. This thesis argues that Swedish film was influenced through several forms of art and ideas from different cinematic cultures. By comparing synaesthetic expressions through visual music in Swedish silent film and other cinematic cultures, this thesis suggest that the concepts were used in different ways to define cinema as a unique form of art.

Interactive digital art installations are fundamentally enabled by hardware and software. Through a combination of these elements an interactive experience is con- structed. The first half of this thesis discusses the technical complexity associated with design and implementation of digital interactive installation. A system, dreamIO, is proposed for mediating this complexity through providing wireless building blocks for creating interactive installations. The technical details–both hardware and software– of this system are outlined. Measurements of the system are presented followed by analysis and discussion of the real world impact of this data. Finally, a discussion of future improvements is presented. The second half of this thesis examines an example interactive installation, Trans- code, which uses the proposed system as the building block for the piece. The piece is presented as evidence for the value of the proposed system and as a work of art in it’s own right. The use of the dreamIO system is detailed followed by a discussion of the interactivity and aesthetic form of the work. The purposes of these specific design choices are then presented. Finally, the work is analyzed through a combination of Relational Aesthetics and Cybernetics. / Graduate

The relationship between color and music, and their relation to the human being and our surrounding universe has been subject of studies, theories and experiments since the old ages. From the ancient China and Persia to the present times, philosophers, scientists and artists have tried to explain these connections between color and music and also tried to find answers to this ancient enigma. The invention of the color organ c. 1730, an instrument that was intended to display color in addition to the musical auditive experience, was the first attempt to materialize the practical correlation between notes and color. This correlation has its foundation in the ideas of Isaac Newton, who through his book Optics published only a few years earlier, conformed the beginning of a new art culture: “Visual music”, in which image and sound are the fundamental elements in the creative process. The “visual music” concept is not only grounded in the ideas of music and sound, but also in the extraordinary creative capability of certain individuals. In short, those blessed with the gift of synaesthesia, a condition that provides a very small percentage of our population with very unique abilities like seeing color when hearing sound. Synaesthesia, a term that has been surrounded by scepticism and disbelief until the middle of the 19th century, will be the ingredient that would open for a complete new world of creative experiences, and became one of the main subjects of investigation and creation for many modern artists like Kandinsky and Klee, poets like Baudelaire, and composers like Skrjabin, Schoenberg or Wagner. In this essay, I’ll create three different studies in which image and sound will be combined to conform unique works. And based on my own synesthetic experience, I will approach my own creative process with the intention of analyzing it and explain how this correlation of image and sound works from my own and subjective artistic perspective.

This report focuses on social networks surrounding visual music, a sub-field of audiovisual experimental art in which hearing and seeing intersect, often through the music-oriented manipulation of abstract imagery and audio-visual synchronization. The discussion evolves from my fieldwork in Los Angeles, where I interacted with artists, archivists, publishers, institutions, software developers, and scholars. Taking into account Howard Becker's notion of art world, Pierre Bourdieu's ideas of cultural and economic capitals, and Bruno Latour's actor-network theory, I try to understand how these groups have been trying to establish visual music-networks. Although elements of visual music have been present in various media and artistic trends (color organs, abstract films, VJing-DJing, etc.), the field's history and premises are still little known, in part because the very term 'visual music' is a contested one. Due to its entertainment/cultural industries, Los Angeles is a place where multiple processes of high tech differentiation coexist; since the 1930s the city's technocultural environment (from film production to academic programs on computer animation) has lured artists interested in visual music. Not surprisingly, the city holds the only two institutions directly related to visual music in the country. I navigate through this field by considering some intersections between science, art, and technology. / text

This research has the objective to carry out scientific studies, through which, we can reflect on interactive techno-aesthetic objects and the production thereof in order to explore their interdisciplinary possibilities for the area of music education within perspectives of Contemporary Art and Educational Technology Network. With empirical / qualitative, this research continues the investigations carried out by the Student Orchestra in a public school in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Aiming at an interdisciplinary contribution between the areas of Visual Arts and Music, with mediation by the Information and Communication Network, seeks to provide reflections on music education mediated by ICT. Narratives of sound production proposals were developed by means of sound-musical interpretation activities, based on imagery resources for Visual Music Productions. The discussion of political, economic and conscientious use of the Internet, with the methodological procedures for the appraisal of musical scenes of daily life activities, it is also one of the purposes of this research. The final product of this research is the development of methodologies for teaching proposals in Interactive Music Education, with the development of Visual Music Scripts and a composition with Visual Music Interactive, using the musical style of Free Improvisation. / Esta pesquisa tem como escopo a realização de estudos científicos, através dos quais, se possa refletir sobre objetos tecno-estéticos interativos e a produção dos mesmos a fim de explorar suas possibilidades de interdisciplinaridade para a área de Educação Musical, dentro de perspectivas da Arte Contemporânea e das Tecnologias Educacionais em Rede. Com caráter empírico/qualitativo, esta pesquisa dá continuidade às investigações realizadas junto à Orquestra Estudantil de uma escola pública no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Visando uma contribuição interdisciplinar entre as áreas de Artes Visuais e Música, com mediação através das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação em Rede, busca-se proporcionar reflexões acerca da educação musical mediada pelas TIC. foram desenvolvidas propostas de produção de narrativas sonoras por meio de atividades de interpretação sonoro-musical, baseando-se em recursos imagéticos para as produções de Música Visual. A discussão de aspectos políticos e da utilização conscienciosa da Internet, tendo como procedimentos metodológicos atividades de apreciação de cenas musicais do cotidiano, também é uma das propostas desta pesquisa. O produto final desta pesquisa consiste na elaboração de metodologias para propostas didáticas em Educação Musical Interativa, com o desenvolvimento de Scripts de Música Visual e de uma composição com Música Visual Interativa, utilizando o estilo musical da Improvisação Livre.

No description available.

La musique aujourd’hui est régulièrement accompagnée d’environnements visuels. Depuis les propositions en provenance du vidéoclip jusqu’aux œuvres installatives en passant par l’art web ou le cinéma, l’audiovisuel occupe une place considérable dans notre monde médiatisé et constitue un foyer important du développement des pratiques musicales. L’alliage entre son et image est souvent rattachée à l’histoire du cinéma mais les prémisses entourant l’audiovisuel remontent en réalité à l’Antiquité. Les correspondances entre sons et couleurs ont pris racine en premier chez les Pythagoriciens et cet intérêt se poursuit encore aujourd’hui. L’avènement de différentes technologies est venu reformuler au fil des siècles cette recherche qui retourne du décloisonnement artistique. L’arrivée de l’électricité permet au XIXe siècle le développement d’une lutherie expérimentale avec entre autres l’orgue à couleur d’Alexander Rimington. Ces instruments audiovisuels donnent naissance plus tard au Lumia, un art de la couleur et du mouvement se voulant proche de la musique et qui ne donne pourtant rien à entendre. Parallèlement à ces nouvelles propositions artistiques, il se développe dès les tout début du XXe siècle au sein des avant-gardes cinématographiques un corpus d’œuvres qui sera ensuite appelé musique visuelle. Les possibilités offertes par le support filmique vient offrir de nouvelles possibilités quant à l’organisation de la couleur et du mouvement. La pratique de cet art hybride est ensuite reformulée par les artistes associés à l’art vidéo avant de connaitre une vaste phase de démocratisation avec l’avènement des ordinateurs domestiques depuis les années 1990. Je retrace le parcours historique de ces pratiques audiovisuelles qui s’inscrivent résolument sur le terrain du musical. Un parcours appuyé essentiellement sur des œuvres et des ouvrages théoriques tout en étant parsemé de réflexions personnelles. Je traite des enjeux théoriques associés à ces propositions artistiques en les différenciant d’un autre format audiovisuel majeur soit le cinéma. Cet exposé permet de préparer le terrain afin de présenter et contextualiser mon travail de création. Je traite de deux œuvres, Trombe (2011) et Lungta (2012), des propositions qui héritent à la fois des musiques visuelles, de l’art interactif et de l’art cinétique. / Visual environments nowadays regularly accompany music. From the video clip to installations, web-art and cinema, audiovisual occupies a great part of our world and constitutes an important development pole of musical practices. The mixing of sound and image is often attached to the history of cinema but the premises of audio-vision date back to Antiquity. The connections between sound and colors were first encountered with the Pythagoricians and the research surrounding these relationships is still pursued nowadays. Different technologies have paved the way to new formulations of this artistic decompartmentalization. In XIXth century, electricity enables the development of an experimental musical instrument fabrication research with Alexander Rimington’s color organ amongst others. These audiovisual instruments give birth later to Lumia, an art form willingly close to music and that renders nothing to hear. In parallel to these new artistic propositions, a body of work later called Visual Music is emerging from early cinematographic avant-gardes. The possibilities offered by the filmic support opens to new ways of organizing color and movement. This hybrid art is then reformulated by video art practitioners before going through a vast phase of democratization with the advent of domestic computers in the early 1990. I cover the different historic parts of these resolutely musical audiovisual practices. This summary is mainly made of art and theoretical works dotted with personal reflections. I comment the theoretical aspects attached to these artistic propositions by opposing another major audiovisual format: cinema. All this in order to pave the way for a presentation and contextualization of my creative output. I propose Trombe (2011) and Lungta (2012), two propositions that inherit from visual music, interactive art and kinetic art.