Graphic Music – sound pictograms
The representation of music in notation form is interesting when composers have developed their own idiosyncratic forms of notation. The resulting scores double as sound pictures, esoteric diagrammatic representations of sound in space and time.
They are like magickal sigils understandable to only those who have the keys to work with them and understand their semiotics. Of course just like magickal sigils these images are interesting in themselves and beckon decipherment. Today my travels have lead me to collect some examples of ‘notation art’.
The blockmuseum has a page devoted to experimental graphical notation where you can zoom into each score and view its details.
Here are some more examples:
Water music – John Cage
Variations – John Cage
Fontana mix – John Cage
Often Cage used methods of randomness to bring about indeterminacy in his music, for example sometimes a piece involved the use of clocks allowing it to change throughout the day. We could call this work generative I think; the random algorithmic generation being controlled by external environmental artefacts.
Edges - Christian Wolff
King of Denmark – Morton Feldman
Tunnel Spiral - Stockhausen
Of course many visual artists have painted music. Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian both spring to mind.