Musical Geometry
For this assignment, we were told to choose a song, research it, and find the sheet music. For my song, I chose Technicolor Beat by Oh Wonder. To put it simply, Technicolor Beat was inspired by positive feelings; the feelings of being happy, alive, and free. Knowing this, I created an image using warm and bright colors to keep the positive feel of the song.
First, I found the sheet music for Technicolor Beat. I used this sheet music to sketch out my favorite lines, hoping this could eventually give me some inspiration. Next, I read over the lyrics a few times to kind of analyze the feel of the song.
Lay down your slow Come settle down, settle down Let loose your glow Come settle down, settle down
And I feel life for the very first time Love in my arms, and the sun in my eyes I feel safe in the 5am light You carry my fears as the heavens set fire
Jump into the heat, spinning on our feet In a technicolour beat, you and me Caught up in a dream, in a technicolour beat
Beat, beat, beat
Warm, unalone Come settle down, settle down Swing me your bones Come settle down, settle down
And I feel life for the very first time Love in my arms, and the sun in my eyes I feel safe in the 5am light You carry my fears as the heavens set fire
Jump into the heat, spinning on our feet In a technicolour beat, you and me Caught up in a dream, in a technicolour beat, beat, beat
Give me one drop, I can feel you Make me lose control We'll be walking, on the water When we're moving in a technicolour beat Moving in a technicolour beat
Jump into the heat (falling off the ceiling) Spinning on our feet (we're moving) In a technicolour beat, you and me (found another feeling) Caught up in a dream, in a technicolour beat
Jump into the heat, spinning on our feet In a technicolour beat, you and me Caught up in a dream, in a technicolour beat
Beat, beat, beat
With these, I began brainstorming. I created two images that eventually inspired what I created as the final outcome.
From there I used the blended colors idea and then placed sheet music on the image, separating each line. I then used the sheet music to create lines across the image. The lines hit points exactly where the beats lie on the sheet.
After cleaning up the lines, I had the finished product. The warm colors of the background symbolize the sunrise and the fire mentioned in the second stanza of lyrics. The bright colors of the lines symbolize the happiness and positivity of feeling alive and free. The lines themselves almost mimic a heart rate. This symbolizes feeling alive from my perspective. Although simple, the image below portrays how the song makes me think and feel.
