In order to further understand how intervals and rhythm can relate to each other architecturally, I’ve analyzed a song that I composed prior to this work. When the song is looked at through its chord progression, there is a shift in musical modes. It starts Ionian, then moves into Dorian, and ends with Ionian.
When looked at through the lens of the mode emotion study, the emotional progression of the song is the following:
Joy & Energy – Hope & Optimism – Joy & Energy
This diagram represents the entirety of the song mapped out fourth dimensionally. Here’s how to read it:
- The thin incremental vertical lines represent a musical measure, which represents an increment of time.
- The horizontal thin incremental lines represent an octave.
- The red boundary lines represent the range of notes on a piano.
- The placement of the gray boxes on the Y axis represents its interval value while it’s delineation vertically represents rhythmic articulation.
By observing this song visually as a whole, one can begin to see how these intervals relate to each other spatially.
This exploration consists of colors and proportions representative of the intervals in the song’s scale. In this case, one can begin to notice how intervals are relating to one another. The colors can represent architectural elements within a space. Even though this represents relationships and rhythm, it is still hard to see how this could represent a spatial experience.
This version is a graphical representation of the interval range. Created from the highest and lowest pitches, these diagrams create a sense of space through the course of the song. Because the graphic itself is two-dimensional, this can be interpreted as not only a section, but also a plan.
How can larger sections of the song be delineated and how do they relate to each other? This diagram contains color representative of sections within the song. In an architectural sense, these are a representation of program. Similar to before, this could be interpreted as either plan or section, where these different groupings represent rooms or spaces. This diagrammatic exploration can be translated into an architectural experience as explained earlier.
This diagram is a culmination of the previous, representing interval relationships, rhythm, and space. All the relationships are now apparent and connections can now be made between interval range, rhythm, and proportion. Although this is still abstract to a degree, these drawings can be interpreted as an architectural parti.
While it is easy to look at these diagrams as 2D representations of 3D space, they are truly representing 3D experience, from the perspective of the individual.
Continue onto 4D MUSIC DIAGRAM
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