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--------------------------------- You wrote in chaosforum: Dear Mr. Robertson- While synaesthetes do indeed exist (I believe Scriabin is a famous example), they are to my knowledge quite rare and not consistent among each other in the associations they make between, say, pitches and colors (although I seem to recall reading one study that suggested they are fairly self-consistent over long periods of time, such as 20 years).  This suggests to me that while many mappings--parametric or otherwise--are possible, the notion that there is some "true" or even widely acceptable mapping between the aural and visual functions of the brain that would not involve a large measure of arbitrary "license" (as you put it) is very probably false. As you know, there is a veritable cottage industry in the field of computer "visualizations" or various kinds.  These are usually based of real time measurements of coarse features of the amplitude and phase of the music being played.  But I suggest that most of their charm comes from extremely simplified correlations that are mostly of a rhythmic nature, since waves--musical or otherwise--exist in both space and time in perceptually compatible ways.  But the number of possible mappings is (I'd guess) infinite, so while you might find ones you like very much, others are very likely to have much different preferences. Thanks for an interesting question in any case.  You might wish to look into mappings into spherical harmonics such as those used in quantum physicists.  I don't believe this has been tried, and in any case might generate some nicely correlated images and sounds. Best wishes, Professor F. Richard Moore, PhD UCSD Department of Music http://www.ucsd.edu/music/faculty/moore.html At 04:52 PM 7/13/2002 +0100, Nathaniel Robertson wrote: >Dear Sir, > >My name is Nathaniel Robertson and I m an English researcher exploring the >non-linear dynamics of synaesthesia with special attention to the >potential of directly translating music into visual landscapes and >pictures into music with a computer.  I started this non-academic research >when I listened to the Orbital album In Sides about 3 years ago and was >amazed at the visual impact on my brain of this type of electronic music. > >I ve encountered programs that use scaled parameters to represent music as >images but have not yet found a literal translator that depicts music in >an authentic and actual visual way that stays totally true to the >composition and employs no artistic licence. > >  I m currently in contact with the Chaos-Gruppe in Germany and in > particular with Dr Werner Eberl the designer of the Chaos Von Eschenberg > fractal translator. > >If you have the time Sir, my question is this: > >What processes would be involved in computer system architecture that >would allow true volumetric plotting of music streams into visual mapping >possibly fractal - and similarly, what nature of algorithm should be >employed to achieve the reverse without artistic or scientific licence in >the translation procedure? > >I believe that if the brain overlaps senses to create a union of audio and >visual stimuli which synaesthetes prove - it should be feasible to use a >computer to listen to a painting and to watch a piece of music. > >With Sincere Regards, > >Nathaniel Robertson BA(Hons)
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