I found this video on a blog I read called open culture. I had heard a lot about these patterns, they are sometimes used in acoustic instrument making, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen it. These patterns called Chladni Patterns after Ernst Chladni who apparently invented this technique in the 1700′s.
The study of the visualization of sound is called Cymatics, here is an extract from an interesting article called Cymatics – The Art Of Sound by Katherine M.J. Osbourne.
“Cymatics and Music
Music is not a linear experience, it is four-dimensional. The sound is produce through the vibration of strings in roughly one dimension (the string has thickness). Surfaces and cavities (such as the body of a violin) vibrate in two and three dimensions. All the vibrations propagate in three dimensions through space. The air in a room filled with music is vibrating, and the shape and material of the walls also have resonant frequencies just as the instruments do. Cymatic visualization is used as a tool in acoustics to develop high quality instruments and sound systems. A movie theater outfitted with a THX or Dolby sound system has been optimized for a pleasurable aural experience by analyzing the building materials, placement of speakers, and other considerations.”
I find it very fascinating to be able to ‘see sound’. Even zooming in and seeing the wave-form representation in recording software is of endless entertainment to me. It amazes me the way something can be both so simple and so complex at the same time.
What do you think about visual representations of sound?


I have been dying to get a Piano for a while now, however with the stairs, and the tuning, and the space it just hasn’t proved practical. But I’ve been also needing a new MIDI controller Keyboard. Mine is only two octaves, and a few notes don’t work so good after the coffee incident… So I found a good medium point. A fairly decent digital Piano. I didn’t go overboard and get one with all the bells and whistles since I’m going to be using it with my computer anyway. It has a great Piano sound and feel, a USB port, and who needs anything else?