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Chromatone – Visual Music Language

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Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#41

Post by karmakaze »

pohl wrote: post #12

The most compelling use of color in music theory that I've encountered is a color scheme where individual notes are given primary colors (yellow, red, blue) like this: C is yellow, C#/Db is red, D is blue, D#/Eb is yellow,...etc First observation: the notes of each of the three diminished tetrads are monochromatic (their notes all have the same color.) Then, look at the major minor triads and assign them secondary co…

I think they're color-coding with the root note (or key?) being red which makes more sense than coloring the note names. Similar to how hearing perfect pitch can be a bit of an annoyance (with unnecessary detail) than useful.

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#42

Post by pohl »

karmakaze wrote: post #41
pohl wrote: post #12

The most compelling use of color in music theory that I've encountered is a color scheme where individual notes are given primary colors (yellow, red, blue) like this: C is yellow, C#/Db is red, D is blue, D#/Eb is yellow,...etc First observation: the notes of each of the three diminished tetrads are monochromatic (their notes all have the same color.) Then, look at the major minor triads and assign them secondary co…

I think they're color-coding with the root note (or key?) being red which makes more sense than coloring the note names. Similar to how hearing perfect pitch can be a bit of an annoyance (with unnecessary detail) than useful.

No, they're definitely assigning the colors to the pitch class. It's not relative to the tonic of the key. I remember that being a stumbling block for me, because I like things that are independent of key. But, no, a C major triad is most certainly orange because C is yellow, and E and G are both red.

I ultimately made peace with this because the greater goal is to break you out of the key prison so you can learn to move anywhere. In this light, it makes sense to assign the colors to the pitch class.

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#43

Post by 867-5309 »

recursive wrote: post #36

This seems kind of like inventing a QWERTY alternative. The best thing about QWERTY is that its ubiquitous and good enough, not that it's optimal. Although in the case of chromatone, I don't see any arguments made about technical improvements. Instead of spelling note names with letters, we have colors. Why is this better? This some argument about the visible spectrum mapping. But like, how is that useful? I can tell…

it is a cool toy

just play with it

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#44

Post by thenoblesunfish »

The big question underlying this kind of analogy: are the spectra of visible things (EM) and the spectra of mechanically vibrating things similar? Naively, I'd say no, so this is yet another fun but ultimately arbitrary mapping which people endlessly invent to make music. Is it deeper than I think at first glance?

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#45

Post by recursive »

867-5309 wrote: post #43
recursive wrote: post #36

This seems kind of like inventing a QWERTY alternative. The best thing about QWERTY is that its ubiquitous and good enough, not that it's optimal. Although in the case of chromatone, I don't see any arguments made about technical improvements. Instead of spelling note names with letters, we have colors. Why is this better? This some argument about the visible spectrum mapping. But like, how is that useful? I can tell…

it is a cool toy just play with it

I'd rather just play a real instrument. Also, the author seems to believe that this is a Big Idea, not just a cool toy.

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#46

Post by slaymaker1907 »

This really doesn't reflect the actual structure of Western music for those without absolute pitch (the vast majority of people). Instead, it's pretty much just relations that matter between pitches which makes things way more difficult to visualize. Mixing red and blue gives you a different color than red and green, but A-C is pretty much the same as Bb-Db, they're both minor thirds.

If you want to analyze it algorithmically, you probably need to start looking at topology or something so that you can correctly relate musical structures in a way that is resistant to transposition.

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#47

Post by sva_ »

eldog_ wrote: post #29
rendall wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got that too, but had never seen that permission before. I just went ahead and allowed it. Current best practice is not to ask permissions like that (location, notifications, or programming midi devices) on landing, but to stick them behind an interaction like a toggle or button press.

Recently chrome started asking for permission to use MIDI, when before it did not. So lots of existing sites won't tell you that they will request MIDI, which is what most sites that request the webcam do for good UX.

I suppose it could be used to fingerprint a user.

Re: Chromatone – Visual Music Language

#48

Post by itishappy »

slaymaker1907 wrote: post #46

This really doesn't reflect the actual structure of Western music for those without absolute pitch (the vast majority of people). Instead, it's pretty much just relations that matter between pitches which makes things way more difficult to visualize. Mixing red and blue gives you a different color than red and green, but A-C is pretty much the same as Bb-Db, they're both minor thirds. If you want to analyze it algori…

> If you want to analyze it algorithmically, you probably need to start looking at topology or something so that you can correctly relate musical structures in a way that is resistant to transposition.

Here's some alternative keyboard layouts that explore that idea:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jank%C3%B3_keyboard

https://www.lumatone.io/

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