Method
You, the person who will execute the instructions and thereby perform this piece will be referred to as “performer”. The piece can be performed by a single performer or by two separate performers. In case of two performers, one will perform Part I and the other will perform Part II.
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The piece consitst of two major parts. The translation from music to photography, and then the translation from the photography back to music.
Part I - Translation from music to photography
The performer chooses a piece of music that inspires them. The musical style does not matter, what matters is that the music has meaning to them.
Step 1 - Interpretation - Choosing the motives
The performer divides the musical piece into appropriate sections. The amount of sections will most likely be somewhere between 1 and 10.
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Some musical genres or forms may have an established way of determining sections. If this is the case, the performer should conform to what the composer intended.
Each section will translate into at least one photograph. The motive of the photograph should be chosen in order to resemble the overall theme of the section. The theme can be chosen at the performers discretion. If there are words they will most likely be the base for the motive, but musical factors may be the determining factor instead.
If the performer finds that the section needs more than one photograph to be represented adequately, they may do so. If there are different amounts of photographs for different sections, this should be coherent with the original composition. Reasons for this could be subsections or varying length and density of the sections.
If there are no words, the interpretation of the section by the performer is to be based on their personal associations to the music.
The choice of motive for each section’s photograph should be made in consideration of the context of the overall piece of music. It is important to consider how the section feels in context with previous and later sections. The title of the piece should be taken into consideration as well.
The motives do not have to be figurative, but can be abstract as well. Things, places, times, living beings as well as feelings could all be motives.
If there are sections that repeat or reoccur, these can have the same motive. If they reappear in a varied way, the photographs should resemble this.
Write a list with the different sections and the resulting motives. The motives can be one word or several, but should not be more than one sentence.
Choosing the motives is considered to be the interpretative part of the translation. A creative approach which claims the agency as the interpreter and performer is encouraged.
Step 2 - Taking the photographs
The next step is to take the photographs of the motives on the list.
While taking the pictures the performer is free to follow their artistic intuition, while considering the following parameters:
The exposure/brightness of the picture will represent the dynamic of the section. A quiet section will result in a light picture, while a loud section will result in a dark picture. If the section has changing dynamics, the picture should represent this. Note that the dynamic of a section is not necessarily determined by the loudness, but can be influenced by other parameters of intensity.
The texture of the music will be represented in the color spectrum of the photograph. A vivid texture will result in vivid colors, while a monotonous texture will result in monotonous colors. If there are strong differences between the different sections, they should be represented in differences in color.
This can be partly done in editing, but it is important that the performer considers these restrictions while taking the photographs.
The photographs can be taken in one location at one time, or at different locations and times. It is important to consider that the relation of the photographs to each other is representative of the sections to each other. There should be a feeling of coherency in combination with appropriate distinction.
For taking the pictures, the performer can be free and creative with the list of motives, while adhering to the given restrictions.
Editing/developing the photographs is part of the photography process. The performer may develop or edit the photographs in order to conform to the restrictions or to fulfill their creative ideas. The editing should only involve the exposure and color of the photo and not change the motive of the photograph in any way or create a collage etc.
Part II - Translation from photography to music
In this part the photographs which resulted from Part I are translated into music. This is done through a process that aims at being the reverse of the steps of Part I.
When performed by a single performer, the process of Part I should be disregarded at this point. You should attempt a new and fresh approach to the photographs. When performed by two separate performers, the second performer should only be provided the photographs, without being informed about the pre-existing piece of music or the motives that they are based on.
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Step 1 - Interpretation - Determining the section themes
In order to interpret the photographs and to process the motives, the performer will describe them. These descriptions will serve as the themes for the different sections of the resulting piece of music.
The themes do not have to be figurative, but can be abstract as well. Things, places, times, living beings as well as feelings could all be the theme or part of it.
The description can be a single word or several, but should not be longer than one sentence.
Create a list of these themes, one for each photograph.
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Step 2 - Music creation
The next step is to create the music. The musical style, as well as the instrumentation are subject to the performer. The performer can choose any musical style and instrument(s) they are comfortable with.
The resulting piece will be presented as a fixed audio file for reproduction on loudspeakers. The music may be performed live and recorded, created through technical means, or any combination of the two.
The music will be divided into sections. The amount of sections corresponds to the amount of themes described in Step 1.
When creating the music, the performer will consider the themes as well as the photographs themselves.
The themes should guide and inform the performer in the creation of each section. If the performer chooses to work with words in the music, they should reflect the themes of the photographs. The performer is free to creatively execute these themes in the music.
The exposure of the photograph will inform the dynamic of the corresponding section. A light photograph results in a quiet section, while a dark photograph will be a loud section. Loudness may not be the only factor to represent the dynamic, other forms of intensity can also be used.
The color spectrum of the photograph represents the texture of the section. Vivid colors result in a vivid texture while monotonous colors will yield a monotonous musical texture.
The different sections of the music should be different to each other, as well as coherent with the differences which the photographs have to each other.
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After completing your performance submit it to this website.
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