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Sound Picture

Beethoven’s Ring Cycle

The latest assignment in basic interface design classes was to take a sound and turn it into a picture. To restrain our creative outbursts somewhat, the professor told us that a viewer would have to be able to look at the picture and comprehend what’s going on with the sound.

Teams were, as always, drawn by lot. I found myself being part of a highly talented ensemble, consisting of brilliant French fellow student and English-horn player Lionel (also an avid whisky drinker) and, well, me. After tossing about some ideas (they’re in the PDF as well), we settled on drawing circles.

(Well, actually, it took us quite a while to figure that out. And we only did the first 56 bars at an average pace of about 1½ hours per bar.)

From now on, if you called me at four in the morning and asked me What do the 2nd violins play in the 44th bar of Beethoven’s fifth?!, I’d totally be able to tell you.1

Also, I can now assure you that listening to the fifth will never get boring. I listened to the first 44 seconds at least 200 times, and it only keeps getting better. (Except if you listen to it at half speed. Now that gets old quickly.)

Beethoven’s masterwork, running in circles.

Just for you, I’ve translated our presentation into English.2 There also is a corresonding sound file (aac, 1.5 MB).

Presentation: Sound Picture (pdf). (Includes background info and sketches.)

Video: Moving Sound Picture (mov, 3.3 MB). (I hacked this together in Keynote :D)

It’s made to be printed on something that’s a least a metre wide, so it doesn’t look that great when viewed on screen.

Next up (when I can be arsed): the awesome ideas that didn’t make it—including the Amazing Sound Carpet.

  1. After yelling you deaf for calling me at such an unearthly hour. ↩
  2. A whopping 17 words, originally—including the name of the class, the professor and our group members on the first slide. I then proceeded to add 163 more words and a whole slide because if I was going to waste so much time, at least I’d do so properly. ↩

Letter to the Editor

Do you have any opinions on the notions conveyed in this text? Send me an e-mail and I’ll publish it here. I might censor it though. Because I can. Because I’m German.