Visual audio is a language that translates from music into visuals. This is done by mapping musical notes onto very specific colours using a formula derived from a comparison of wavelengths in the auditory and visual spectrums.

The colour scale is created by overlapping values from the longitudinal wave spectrum to the transverse wave spectrum. In basic terms, this means mapping what humans can see onto what we can hear. The diagram below shows both longitudinal and transverse spectrums on one scale.

Mapping C: the musical note with the longest wave onto red: the colour with the longest wave, It is possible to translate the 12 other musical notes into specific colours. Following on from this, the 10 octave range of human hearing can be calculated by simply changing the brightness of each of these 12 colours.

The colour scale

Unfortunately, only eight and a half octaves can be rendered, as all colour values must be rounded off by computer monitors. However, this is more than enough as the average piece of music spans less than four.

To visualise a piece of music it is necessary to have a form for the colours to take as they appear. I have created a series of symbols representing the different types of sound from treble to bass. The symbols are based on the shapes a 1" circle of sand on cling film makes when vibrated from underneath by a speaker outputting different frequencies.
I am currently working on shapes that symbolise the various instruments.

Photos of sand showing results from 66 Hz to 8000Hz

symbols created based on results

If you have not done so already, please have a look at an early sample of the colour scale theory in use by clicking on sample clip below. The file is 5.15MB, so if you have a slow connection, it may be better to download it for viewing later. Please don't forget to let me know what you think!