Sean Day's colored musical timbres

                    (as of yet, still incomplete)

 

 

    piccolo                     -- metallic; polished.

    flute                         -- metallic; polished.

    bass flute                 -- metallic; polished.

    oboe                         -- woody, plantlike vine.

    English horn           -- woody, plantlike vine.

    clarinet                    -- lacquered paint.

    bass clarinet            -- lacquered paint.

    bassoon                    -- woody, plantlike.

    piccolo trumpet      -- very unusual combination of flames and polished metal.

    trumpet                   -- very unusual combination of flames and polished metal.

    French horn            -- a sheet of construction paper.

    trombone                 -- flames.

    tuba                          -- ???; blobs.

    soprano saxophone -- a living snake-ball of hundreds of lit neon tubes.

    alto saxophone        -- a living snake-ball of hundreds of lit neon tubes.

    tenor saxophone     -- a living snake-ball of hundreds of lit neon tubes.

    bass saxophone       -- a living snake-ball of hundreds of lit neon tubes.

    harmonica               -- (unknown texture)

    bass harmonica       -- (unknown texture)

    theremin                  -- a cloud of pink cotton candy.

    acoustic guitar        -- lacquered wood.

    banjo                        -- very difficult to describe; rains down in very thin wires.

    electric guitar         -- a ball of electrical plasma.

    electric bass            -- very odd blobs.

    mandolin                 -- lacquered wood.

    harmonium             -- very strange pool of liquid.

    harp                        -- a rain of extremely thin, elongated tiny silverish threads.

    organ                       -- an huge sheet of highly burnished, very reflective gold.

    piano                        -- a mist of extremely tiny beads of liquid plastic.

    glockenspiel

    marimba

    xylophone

    vibraphone           -- a mist with a metallic sheen.

    timpani                 -- blobs of some type of very thick fluid.

    cymbals                -- flashes of lightning.

    snare drum          -- puffs of smoke.

    bass drum            -- puffs of smoke.

    voices                   -- very thin, translucent layer of mother-of-pearl.

    violin                    -- polished wood paneling.

    viola                     -- polished wood paneling.

    cello                     -- polished wood paneling.

    double bass         -- polished wood paneling.

Click HERE to hear one of my compositions, Absence , a duet for flute and cello. For me, flutes synesthetically are off-white, with shadings of blue and silvery flashes; cellos are dark cherry wood with green  flecks.  Absence depicts two lovers, separated by long distance, talking to each other (or writing to each other), living on hope that, one day, they might once again be together.

 

Additional compositions, from Rainbow Suite, a suite of 10 movements, each depicting a color:

Movement 1: Red (action-adventure movie theme).

Movement 3: Brown (clichés and coffee).

Movement 6: White (a music box playing on a snowy winter’s evening).

Movement 7: Green (a tree grows from seed to fullness, putting forth different branches and fruit).

 

 

                 Last updated: 18.February.2008