Making the music ...

Divide the class into groups and give each a section or element of the painting to work on. It is not essential to try to attempt to translate all the pictorial information into musical material. It may be a good idea to allow the students some choice in the material they work with. Here are some possible areas for investigation with suggested interpretations. It is important to remember that these are only suggestions – there are no right or wrong answers here.

Example 1

In the top right of the painting, there are three ‘floating’ circles. We can use these objects as a stimulus for writing a section for three instruments.

The circle shape is associated with cold and calm.

The colours can reinforce or conflict with this association.

Black = ‘eternal silence without hope’

Orange = mixture of red and yellow – ‘radiant, healthy, serious’. Moving towards us could suggest getting louder.

Green = calm. However there are various shades of green, deepening towards the centre. Therefore there will be some movement from ‘clarity’ to obscurity’.

This could lead to a piece of music which has three distinct elements. They all share something in common (the shapes), but the different colours and sizes will give them each their own ‘personality’. Their relative positions on the canvas could be interpreted musically [in terms of higher and lower pitch regions?].

They are all in the upper right of the canvas – an area associated with ‘looseness and lightness’ [upper] and coming to rest [right].

This wealth of information can be used to make a series of informed choices on timbre, texture, tonality etc.

Example 2

In the top left of the picture are three wavy lies on a black background.

The black background can be interpreted as a background ‘accompaniment’. There is some conflict here. The colour suggests static ‘without hope’. The shape [rectangle] suggests ‘strength, determination’.

Musically this could be realised with little movement, dark, deep sounds, strong harmony.

The wavy lines could be used to generate a melody. The colour suggests something bright and energetic. The angles are curved, so the music does not want to be too ‘spiky’. The verticality might suggest upward movement. The three parallel lines could suggest a parallel three part harmony.

The position on the canvas [top left] is an area associated with ‘movement into the distance’ and ‘looseness and lightness’.

These allusions can be seen as being rather vague and ‘fuzzy’, but should [with perhaps some teacher guidance] provide enough of a springboard to enable students to start exploring musical ideas.

Example 3

The background is also worth considering as it could provide a backdrop or ‘ambience for the entire piece. It is essentially blue suggesting ‘calm’, but in varying shades. This could be pre-recorded as a backing soundtrack, as suggested in Phase 1.