Words on Form, Colour & Time
These
notes are the setting out of some ideas on form colour and
time. Any comments in these early stages would be appreciated.
Introduction
'Is
it a painters palette'?
If differing frequencies of sound create variations in colour,
a likeness can be made with the process of painting.Their
placement on the canvas in space, creates a two dimensional
relationship between them. Their form in relation to one another
implies a third dimension. Inclusion of time adds the fourth
dimension and this is where the analogy becomes unstuck. The
musical experience, not only relates to spectrum but also
to time.*
*
"The apparently clear and justifiable division: painting-space
(plane). music-time". ("Point & Line To Plane"
by Wassily Kandinsky (p.34), published by Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation).
A
story is directly influenced by the style of writing;
indirectly by the text it is written in and the voice that
reads it.
A film is purposefully influenced by the images setting a
specific scene.
A painting is in-directly influenced by the actual pictoral
nature of itself.
Poetry, Sculpture, Architecture and Dance also have these
distractions.
Within the arts, music is free from the constrictions of reality
with very few in-direct influences for the listener.
To
the listener the imagination is unlimited when hearing a musical
piece. No pre-determined images are available to relate to,
so each and every listener creates a world of their own, specific
to that piece. However this has the opportunity to vary with
each hearing, as the mood of the listener varies.
The Elements
Types
of sounds and their respective qualities
Point/Staccato/Beat
The
point can be likened to . or 0 (zero).
In
text it serves as the end. Silence.
It
is a shock or a jolt that brings us out of our current habitual
flow.
It
stands on its own as an independent being, breaking out of
the space it is in. It is always juxtaposed to its surroundings.
As the space a point sits in increases, the impact of that
point decreases.
It
is concentrated matter all falling on one point in space or
time. Only when it is subordinated does it grow a purpose
and its inner attributes become clearer.
In
music it is the initial collision of the tool with the sound
making instrument.
As
the size of the point increases so it becomes more powerful.
The
point is assumed to be small and round, but can be an unlimited
number of shapes. It can take on the shape of a square, triangle
or a multitude of irregularities. These shapes could draw
similarities with waveforms in synthesis, (see later notes
on synthesis).
Depending
on the instrument making the point, it will vary in tone and
texture. The more irregular and textural the point becomes
the more we see its constituents.
If
a point is placed in a plane/timespace its importance varies
according to the plane/timespace around it. If placed central
to the plane two sounds are produced but only one is audible
as the sound of the plane is too slight to be noticeable.
If placed nearer to the edge of that plane/timespace the double
sounds are heard. (The point and the plane around it or the
plane and then the point).
Repetition
or vibration of the one point gives rise to a basic rhythm
and harmony in all art forms. We have an urge to feel at home
with repetition or rhythm from early life and upbringing next
to our mother's heart.
Groups
of points. Nature. The whole world is a point made up of many
smaller compositions.
Note
the fifth dimension. The point placed at any point in the
plane/timespace is played from one or several points in a
three dimensional space. The position of the listener in that
space and its acoustics influence the experience further.
Written
by Experimenter En Couleur
(To be completed with notes on Granular points, Line/Sustain/Movement/Tension,
Composition, Intuition in realisation of art).
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