An Artistic Visualization of Music Modeling a Synesthetic Experience
This project offers an artistic visualization tool for individuals interested in exploring synesthetic experiences, but it is an incremental contribution to the broader field of music visualization.
This project developed a particle simulator in MAX 8 that generates visual performances by varying particle position, velocity, and color based on parameters extracted from input audio. The goal was to model a synesthetic experience where sounds create colors.
This project brings music to sight. Music can be a visual masterpiece. Some people naturally experience a visualization of audio - a condition called synesthesia. The type of synesthesia explored is when sounds create colors in the 'mind's eye.' Project included interviews with people who experience synesthesia, examination of prior art, and topic research to inform project design. Audio input, digital signal processing (including Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs)) and data manipulation produce arguments required for our visualization. Arguments are then applied to a physics particle simulator which is re-purposed to model a synesthetic experience. The result of the project is a simulator in MAX 8, which generates a visual performance using particles by varying each particle's position, velocity, and color based on parameters extracted via digital processing of input audio.