The Harmonic Series

source: creativeapplications

Created by Manuela Donoso and Luisa Pereira, The Harmonic Series is a collection of mechanical devices , software, sculptures and prints that explore the relationship between musical and visual harmony.

Inspired by the nineteenth century mathematician Jules Lissajous who invented a device to visualize sound vibrations using two tuning forks and a beam of light reflected from one mirror to the next to a screen, Manuela and Luisa have re-created and extended this experiment using recent tools. An electronic version of the device replaces the tuning forks with microphones and speakers, allowing people to sing different musical intervals, and contrast the resulting figures with the more chaotic ones generated by percussive sounds.
An application plays groups of three notes and plots 3d Lissajous figures for their frequency ratios. The frequency ratios for major, minor and diminished chords are 4:5:6, 10:12:15 and 20:24:29 respectively. These chords were plotted using the app, and then printed as posters and sculptures that reveal a tight relationship between aural and visual harmony.

The Harmonic Series is an ongoing project: a web application and a portable version of the mechanical device are currently under development. Created using Processing.org (libraries: opengl, controlP5) and the project includes a speakers, an amplifier, microphones and a laser pointer.
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source: trendhunter

Only a few years ago, the concept of using sounds to create a visual sensory experience was unheard of, but thanks to rapid developments in 3D printing technology, artists like Manuela Donoso and Luisa Pereira are making harmonics into visual, tangible works of art like those demonstrated in their Harmonic series.

By using a wide array of cross platform materials like software, mechanical devices, sculptures, 2D and 3D printing technologies, Donoso and Pereira have been able to reveal what they describe as the “tight relationship between musical and visual harmony” with their Harmonic series.

Featuring both 2D and 3D works of art, Manuela Donoso and Luisa Pereira’s Harmonic Series is an ongoing project that sees these out of the music box thinkers continuing to figure out clever, eye-catching ways of presenting the cohesion of musical and visual harmony.