The Music Animation Machine: A tool for listeners
(Bach: In Dulci Jubilo, from Das Orgelbüchlein, first ten bars
Watch this piece (or download it for your video iPod)
Music moves, and can be understood just by listening. But a conventional
musical score stands still, and can be understood only after years of training.
The Music Animation Machine bridges this gap, with a score that moves -- and
can be understood just by watching.
This animated score (which can be viewed on DVD or
on your computer screen) contains much of the
information in a conventional score, but shows it in a way that can be
understood intuitively by anyone, including children.
The Music Animation Machine display is a score without any measures or clefs,
in which information about the music's structure is conveyed with bars of color
representing the notes. These bars scroll across the screen as the music plays.
Their position on the screen tells you their pitch and their timing in relation
to each other. Different colors denote different instruments or voices,
thematic material, or tonality. And each note lights
up at the exact moment it sounds, so you can't lose your place.
The experience of watching the Music Animation Machine can be a remarkable awakening to the inner structure of music, especially for people who are sensitive to music but lack the training to "see inside" a conventional musical score. A tool for listeners of all ages.