Ok, we’re about to raise this 3D thing a notch. Scratch that. We’re about to raise it 5,000 notches and 10 sequential pokes to the eye to say, this is how you will create 3D geometry in the future.

Yes, not only will you be a concert violinist, you’ll also be a 3D modeling GENIUS. KER-BAAAM. Jonas Friedemann Heuer developed the Clavilux 2000 to visualize how musical notes are being played by the musician and to remind you of when your clavicle shot out your chest skin at that New Year Eves party in 1999. Par-tay!

The visual concept of Clavilux 2000 is quite simple. For every note played on the keyboard a new visual element appears in form of a stripe, which follows in its dimensions, position and colour the way the particular key was stroked: The length and vertical position show the velocity, the stripe’s width reflects the length of each note. By mapping the color wheel on the circle of fifths, the colours finally give the viewer and listener an impression of the harmonic relations. Notes belonging to one specific tonality always get colors from one specific area of the color wheel. Therefore each key gets it’s own color scheme and “wrong” notes stand out in contrasting colors. The more different tonalities a piece has, the more colorful the visualization will be.

Tonalities… features, visualization… rendering. Ya see where we’re going? I knew you would. Honestly, I think music, music theory, musical chairs… all have a lot to aid in the thought process of creating 3-dimensional designs. Yes, I’m implying that knowing a musical instrument makes you a better designer/engineer. We’ll see what kind of reaction that gets, but I’d say with certainty and all other things being equal, I’d hire someone with musical influence over someone without it… especially a drummer, cause you gotta have a beat.

Anyway, the 3D mode is what you’ll want to watch. Hit the 1:14 mark in the video below and prepare to be taken to a special place where musical notes create 3D visualizations best suited for Radiohead concerts or making your children cry.

For more on the project, see Jonas Friedemann’s webiste. Psst, here’s some info on what the word Clavilux comes from.

Via HelloKinsella

Author

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.