What does music look like? The Shape of Song is an attempt to answer this seemingly paradoxical question. The custom software in this work draws musical patterns in the form of translucent arches, allowing viewers to see - literally - the shape of any composition available on the Web. Each arch connects two repeated, identical passages of a composition. By using repeated passages as signposts, the diagram illustrates the deep structure of the composition. The resulting images reflect the full range of musical forms, from the deep structure of Bach to the crystalline beauty of Philip Glass.The online application allows you to select one of 648 musical pieces, from a diverse repertoire and see them visualized with this technique. Or you can even add your own MIDI file.
