Tag: color theory

  • The Colors of Music

    Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash

    Humans are Limited in Sight & Sound

    On the electromagnetic spectrum, humans can see only a small amount of light, which is called the visible spectrum. We see “Roy G. Biv” (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet).

    If combined, each of the seven colors of the rainbow makes white light. Sir Isaac Newton found that a prism can split white light into these seven colors.

    Each Color has a Sound Frequency

    Red = C (Do)

    Orange = D (Re)

    Yellow = E (Mi)

    Green = F (Fa)

    Blue = G (So)

    Indigo = A (La)

    Violet = B (Ti)

    Play them and see how you feel?

    Colors Evoke Emotions

    Each color frequency is connected to how we feel as they vibrate at different rates of speed, affecting our bodies. Color Therapy has been used to change people’s emotions. A well-known painter, Mark Rothko, understood how color alters us emotionally. The painting below uses complementary colors, red and green with the red being a dominant feature.

    The power of Rothko’s work is the use of color to create an emotional state for the viewer that was passionate.

    Mark Rothko’s Earth and Green, 1950s

    Music does the Same Thing: Evoke Emotion

    We listen to genres of music to experience a specific feeling. Death metal can raise anger, classical with maturity, and country with the twang and a line dance. DJs get this. They curate music for the emotional experience.

    What are you curating today?