Surprisingly, there is a close relationship between sound and color. Sounds are harmonic vibrations, the frequencies of which are related as whole numbers and cause pleasant sensations in a person (consonance). Close, but differing in frequency, vibrations cause unpleasant sensations (dissonance). Sound vibrations with continuous frequency spectra are perceived by humans as noise.
The harmony of all forms of manifestation of matter was noticed long ago by people. Pythagoras considered the ratios of the following numbers to be magic: 1/2, 2/3, 3/4. The basic unit by which all structures of a musical language can be measured is a semitone (the smallest distance between two sounds). The simplest and most basic of these is the interval. The interval has its own color and expressiveness, depending on its size. The intervals add up both horizontals (melodic lines) and verticals (chords) of musical constructions. It is the intervals that are the palette from which a piece of music is obtained.
Let's try to figure it out with an example.
What we have:
- frequency, measured in hertz (Hz), its essence, in simple terms, how many times per second an oscillation occurs. For example, if you manage to hit the drum at 4 beats per second, that means you are hitting at 4Hz.
- wavelength is the reciprocal of frequency and determines the interval between oscillations. There is a relationship between frequency and wavelength, namely: frequency = speed / wavelength. Accordingly, an oscillation with a frequency of 4 Hz will have a wavelength of 1/4 = 0.25 m.
- each note has its own frequency
- each monochromatic (pure) color is determined by its wavelength, and accordingly has a frequency equal to the speed of light / wavelength
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- the note is in a certain octave. To raise a note one octave up, its frequency must be multiplied by 2. For example, if the A note of the first octave has a frequency of 220Hz, then the A second octave has a frequency of 220 × 2 = 440Hz.
If we go higher and higher in the notes, we will notice that at 41 octaves the frequency will fall into the spectrum of visible radiation, which is in the range from 380 to 740 nanometers (405-780 THz). This is where we begin to match a note to a specific color.
Now we will overlay this scheme on the rainbow. It turns out that all colors in the spectrum fit into this system. Blue and blue are identical for emotional perception, the difference is only in the intensity of the color.
It turned out that the entire spectrum visible to the human eye fits in one octave from Fa # to Fa. Consequently, the fact that a person distinguishes 7 primary colors in a rainbow, and 7 notes in a standard scale is not just a coincidence, but a relationship.
Visually, you get the following scheme:
The A value (for example 8000A) is the Angstrom unit.
1 angstrom = 1.0 × 10-10 meters = 0.1 nm = 100 pm
10000 Å = 1 μm
This unit of measurement is often used in physics, since 10−10 m is the approximate radius of the orbit of an electron in an unexcited hydrogen atom. The colors of the visible spectrum are measured in thousands of angstroms.
The visible spectrum of light ranges from about 7000 Å (red) to 4000 (violet). In addition, for each of the seven primary colors corresponding to the frequencies of the sound and the location of the musical notes of the octave, the sound is converted into a spectrum visible to humans.
Here is a breakdown of intervals from one study on the relationship between color and music:
Red - m2 and b7 (small second and large septim), in nature there is a danger signal, alarm. The sound of this pair of intervals is harsh, harsh.
Orange - b2 and m7 (major second and minor seventh), softer, less emphasis on anxiety. The sound of these intervals is somewhat calmer than the previous one.
Yellow - m3 and b6 (minor third and major sixth), primarily associated with autumn, its sad peace and everything connected with it. In music, these intervals are the basis of a minor key, a fret, which is most often perceived as a means of expressing sadness, thoughtfulness, grief.
Green - b3 and m6 (major third and minor sixth), the color of life in nature, like the color of foliage and grass. These intervals are the basis of the major scale, a light, optimistic, life-affirming scale.
Blue and blue - ch4 and ch5 (pure quart and pure fifth), the color of the sea, sky, spaciousness. The intervals sound in the same way - wide, spacious, a little like in "emptiness".
Purple - uv4 and um5 (increased fourth and decreased fifth), the most curious and mysterious intervals, they sound exactly the same and differ only in spelling. Intervals through which you can leave any key and come to any other. They provide an opportunity to penetrate into the world of musical space. Their sound is unusually mysterious, unstable, and requires further musical development. It exactly coincides with violet, the same intense and most unstable color in the entire color spectrum. This color vibrates and fluctuates, very easily turns into colors, its components are red and blue.
White is an octave, a range in which absolutely all musical intervals fit. She is perceived as absolute peace. Merging all the colors of the rainbow produces white. The octave is expressed by the number 8, a multiple of 4. And 4, according to the Pythagorean system, the symbol of a square, completeness, end.
This is just a small part of the information that can be told about the relationship between sound and color.
