Music has often been referred to as colorful which implies that sound embodies a particular visible shade of color. In many ways this is true as all color is the reflection of light and shade and music is the reflection of the light that shines from within the human spirit. In this way, seeing music as colorful is much more than a metaphorical conception of sound but a realization that the light of the soul reflects through art and is projected into the minds of others producing the visual concept of it’s sonic illumination.

Just as we can recognize the presence of energies and the different qualities they represent in musical form, so can color and texture embody sound in a manner that add additional experiential elements to the vibrations of sound. Much like a great painting or sculpture speaks to us through the voice of its shade and texture, a melody or song speaks to us in the same way. By creating a particular texture or color of sound, the mind is given an enhanced visual connection to the music and is drawn in to the emotional experience of the artist who created it.

A prime and simple example of the connection of color and sound is represented in the blues. The music was primarily rooted in the expression of pain and sorrow, which in the era of its origin was often referred to as “feeling blue” or “having the blues”. When this feeling was expressed in musical form no other name could justly suit it but the blues. The mellow and somber vibes of the stories the songs told were directly translated in the textures of sound and the mood of the music that accompanied them. This is also very apparent in a modern form of metal known as black metal. The word black refers to the dark and ominous nature of the music’s message.

Texture is the other component that when mixed with light and shade will add dimension to any musical expression. Often the role of a producer is to find ways to conceptualize textures of sound and present the info back to the artist in a way that will expand the sonic vision. It is often difficult for every person to see, or hear, an idea in the same way and that is why it becomes important to be open to the textural visualization of sound.

I’ll give you a personal example of how I came to understand this concept and learned to apply it to my own guitar tone. My fellow band mate and I were trying to describe something that we felt was lacking in our guitar tone and he described it to me as masking tape. He said, “When you peel a big strip of masking tape off of the roll it has a very distinct sound of thickness, but not like a weight, more of a thickness that is held up by the fullness of the sound”. Well needless to say it took a minute to get it but as soon as I got my hands on a roll of masking tape and peeled a big piece off I GOT IT! With this picture in my mind of adding more masking tape to my tone I was quickly able to pinpoint what was missing in the way of EQ and tone settings and dial it in!

The key to adding texture to your sound is simply being creative and having an open mind. Ask yourself things like, what will add depth to my sound or what can add another layer or dimension to it that will raise it up from the speakers and reach out and grab your ears? The possibilities are truly limitless. If you can imagine it, you can recreate it!

So the addition of color and texture to sound is MUCH more than just a clever descriptive tool that a producer or songwriter uses to express an idea, but it is a living infusion of light and dimension with the vibratory frequencies of sound. Most of us play our guitar or listen to music or even write music and never give a moment of thought to the concepts of light and color, but these vibrations are ALWAYS present in the sound. By acknowledging their presence and learning how to use them to serve you in your creative process, your music will be heard and seen in a whole new light!

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Guest Post by Max Pheiffer

We’ve all heard it on the radio. The next big thing. The next musical movement that will end all movements. The next genius. And then the beat comes: generic, boring. No talent in the background music, but obviously in this genre, the actual instrumentation is clearly second-stage to the singing. Okay, so the voice and songwriting must be good. I mean, they’re the new musical genius of the age right? Yeah? Nope, it’s the goddamn Jonas Brothers. Or, even worse. It makes me shudder to say it, but it could be… Katy Perry. I’m sorry you had to read that. (By the way, if you don’t know whom Katy Perry is, than your luckier than you know).

Photo by Wollbinho

So where has real musical talent gone? Some would say to the dogs, but I have to argue differently. I think the real musicians of the age have shied away from the radio and MTV (which has now become a network for over-sexed, undereducated 20-something people to showcase their acting “skills”) and have found a different path. No, it’s really not that easy to find good, new music, but it is not impossible. Keep in mind, music is out there, it’s just muddled and buried under KISS FM’s iron fist.

But don’t give up your love of music just yet. There is hope, I swear it. There are a few mediums of discovery that can open your eyes to music in a new way, helping you rediscover your faith in human-kind again, which has been fading in the last few years. The trick is simply finding out where to look. With the amount of music in the world, anyone would feel overwhelmed in trying to find what they hope to be their new go-to band, but a few tried and true mediums can help open your ears.

The first, although it can be a fruitless venture sometimes, has the benefit of being free and easy. Look for student-run college radio programs. Yes, college students do have the capacity to be just about the most pretentious people out there (I would stay away from the talk radio programs), for some reason they know music. The great benefit of this is you will get a much-needed break from the Top 40 and the endless rotation of the same classic rock hits from which I’m sure everyone could use a break from time to time.

Another idea, if you would like to find good music yourself and not have to shovel through the parade of the radio commercials and DJs, is to pick up an Indie music mag. Even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of Indie music (it does get hard to sympathize with a falsetto-voiced 16 year old that has access to a thesaurus and four-track), the great thing is that a whole different world of music is deemed “Indie”; you just need to give it a try. I like magazines on the Internet, such as Pitchfork, because you can hear song samples along with the reviews and interviews, and it makes it easy to find a sound that you dig without making a single purchase.

The last, and sometimes best, way is Internet Radio. I like Pandora; it’s free, easy, and effective. The only problem is that it can overuse a handful of songs that it knows you like (much like regular radio, but its still a plus because there’s no DJ talking over the intro to all the songs and plugging their own radio station) and the songs get stale after a while. But as long as you make an active effort to force it to show you new stuff, it all works out.

Well, now you’re ready to enter the world of discovery. It’s a slow, lonely, frustrating, and oftentimes painful, road in which you must sift through some real, true garbage. However, at the risk of being clichéd, there are diamonds in the rough out there. Granted it can get pretty rough, finding current music that is something to be proud of is an exhilarating experience. These musicians want to be discovered, now go discover them.