New Series Overview

ABOUT THE SERIES
The idea for this series came from the surprising speed in which my brain connected musical notes and interval numbers when I started color coding sheet music and charts while learning the fretboard of the guitar. The connections happened so quickly and effortlessly I knew it wasn't "me" thing. It was a "brain" thing. This realization was the inspiration for this new series of art.

Using color to link musical notes, numbers (1-2-3...) and letters (A-B-C...) happens quickly because the human brain is already hard wired to make connections between the different senses. The connections are just not well developed in most people (except for people who have Synesthesia).
 
Think about the experience of hearing sounds and seeing imagery "in the real world" or "in your mind's eye." The human brain processes a wide range of sensory information as a unified, singular experience.

TWO CATEGORIES OF WORK
The two categories of work in the new series are both based on the universal language of color but approached from different directions.  

1) Some works start off as music that I translate into the "language of color" by using color coded objects that convey the notes as accurately as sheet music and thus can be played on an instrument or sung.

These works translate SOUND WAVES (music) to COLORS  (light waves) to NUMBERS (intervals) or LETTERS (note names) then back to SOUND WAVES (music)

2) Some works start off as math or numbers that I translate into the "language of color" conveying the original concepts as accurately as the original numbers but adding twists and turns that aren't possible with numbers.

These works translate NUMBERS to COLORS to SOUND WAVES which can be recited, sung or played as music.

In the video above you will hear me playing my favorite riff by Mark Knopfler from the song On Every Street.  If you look closely, you can see the Kalimba instrument has engravings of interval numbers and note letters.

This work translates SOUND WAVES (music) to COLORS  (light waves) to NUMBERS (intervals) or LETTERS (note names) or back to SOUND WAVES (music)

The color chart below is of the12 note chromatic scale that shows the correlation between colors, interval numbers, note letters I use as bridges.

In the video below, you will hear the 7 notes of the diatonic scale followed by the 12 notes of the chromatic scale. As each note rings, the corresponding color/ thread spool rises up to a specific height based on hertz.  The thread spool animations (and there are more of them) make a light hearted connection to the many thread spool installations I created over the years.   LINK TO THREAD SPOOL WORKS

Musical notes can be conveyed in various languages: intervals (1-2-3...), note names (A-B-C...), or note symbols on musical staffs.  Color can be thought of as one more "language" that can be used to convey musical notes.  

A benefit of using color to convey music is that musical notes and color are directly perceived by our senses and processed by the brain.  We don't need to learn how to perceive color or sound like other languages like numbers, letters, words, or other symbols used to convey music.  And that's one reason learning the "language of color" happens so quickly.

The video above is of an early experiment playing a triad progression based on the eight random numbers that comprise a particular day, month, and year.  Since musical intervals are 1-8, for the number 9, I added a lighter version of orange which I use for the number 2.  This makes sense because 9 is the same note as 2 but an octave higher.   0 is represented as black.

This work translates NUMBERS (a specific 8 digit date) to COLORS (labels on mini 45s)  to SOUND WAVES (musical notes) which can be recited, sung or played as music.  I chose to play it on the guitar.

Art that Bridges the Universal Languages of Music, Math, and Color

In the time of the Ancient Greeks, music was not seen as an art but rather as a quantitative science that was used as a mathematical and philosophical description of how the universe was perceived to be constructed.