DegreeProject_MusicMakesSense

Hi, my name is Brittany Hand and I am calling my degree project, “Music Makes Sense.” So I have been asking people to describe to me what they think their music or music that they like would taste like if it had a taste, what it smells like, and how it feels, and based off of those answers... I am trying to decide what to do exactly.

So, so far I have experimented with making posters and a short animation, to show what that music might look like. So you have all 5 senses, with sound obviously being the most important one, because that’s what music is all about. But my goal is to make people get an even greater experience out of listening to music.

So “Music Makes Sense” is about getting people to expand their minds, use all of their senses, and enjoy music in every way that they possibly can.

BLUEBERRIES ARE A SUPERFOOD, GOOD FOR YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SOUL.

I’D LIKE TO THINK MY MUSIC TASTES LIKE EATING A HEALTHY

SUPERFOOD.

SHY BOYS SMELLS LIKE A COMBINATION OF

SEAWEED, INCENSE, AND CIGARETTES.

NEIL YOUNG’S MUSIC WOULD TASTE LIKE PECAN PIE

WITH A LITTLE VANILLA ICE CREAM

ON TOP.

HOW CAN I USE DESIGN TO

SHOW WHAT MUSIC LOOKS LIKE?

REFINED QUESTION:

So for my refined question, “How can I use design to show what music looks like?”Everyone listens to music in different and unique ways.

One might think of their favorite song as the happiest, most uplifting thing in the world, while someone else might know that song and like it, but there’s nothing in particular that makes that song stick in their head.

So a big part of my research for this project has been synesthesia, which stems from the words together and sensation. It’s a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory.

There are two overall forms of synesthesia, one being projecting and the other associative. People who project will see actual colors and forms when stimulated, while associators will feel a very strong and involuntary connection between the stimulus and the sense that it triggers.

For example, in the common form chromesthesia (which is sound to color) a projector may hear a trumpet and see an orange triangle, while an associator might hear a trumpet and think very strongly that it sounds "orange".

BLUEBERRIES ARE A SUPERFOOD, GOOD FOR YOUR MIND, BODY, AND SOUL.

I’D LIKE TO THINK MY MUSIC TASTES LIKE EATING A HEALTHY

SUPERFOOD.

So I am asking people what they think certain music tastes, smells, and feels like because I believe there’s a little synesthesia in all of us. For example, this guy, Sam, believes that his music tastes like blueberries because they’re good for your mind, body, and soul. It smells the way it smells after a spring rain, and feels like a religious experience. Everyone has different reasons behind what they picture music to be like.

NEIL YOUNG’S MUSIC WOULD

TASTE LIKE PECAN PIE

WITH A LITTLE VANILLA ICE

CREAM ON TOP.

This guy, Stuart, thinks that Neil Young’s music tastes like pecan pie with a little vanilla ice cream on top, and there’s no particular reason for it, that’s just what he thinks. It’s what sticks in his mind when he listens to Neil Young’s music. And I’m not saying that he just sits there and thinks about pecan pie whenever he listens to his music, but there’s something there that makes him think that the music would taste like pecan pie.

But Stuart doesn’t think that Neil Young’s music smells like pecan pie. He thinks it smells like lavender and feels like something that would warm you up in the winter and make you feel good in the summer.

SHY BOYS SMELLS LIKE A COMBINATION OF SEAWEED, INCENSE, AND CIGARETTES.

Collin Rausch believes that his band, “Shy Boys” smells like a combination of seaweed, incense, and cigarettes. And that they taste like tea and morning mouth, and feel like sitting in the seat of a car that's been split, with the stuffing showing and the vinyl all cracked and scratchy, but it’s somehow still comfortable. My friend John agrees with Collin in all of those feelings, and added that there would probably be a mystery flavored sucker stuck somewhere within the area of that seat.

And John thinks that his band’s music would taste, smell, and feel like a strawberry banana smoothie.

There’s so much memory that comes with hearing particular songs, the way that smells and tastes do. I think that Tycho smells like tanning oil and sunscreen, and tastes like a margarita. I can feel wind on my face and picture Tycho’s music in my head.

OBJECTIVES:

TO ASSIST PEOPLE IN EXPERIENCING ALL

FIVE SENSES WHEN LISTENING TO MUSIC

So what are my objectives? I want to help people experience allllll of their senses when listening to music, not just one.

PROPOSED SOLUTION:

AN INTERACTIVE MUSIC EXPERIENCE

So as part of my proposed solution in getting people to enjoy music in every way that they possibly can, along with my posters and short documentary, I want to create an interactive music experience at our senior show, where people can put on headphones and listen to a certain piece of music and then describe how it made them feel, physically and emotionally, with hopefully all five senses being involved.

I had originally wanted to make candles that smelled like the way people described music, and design the label and packaging for them, but I think that may be something I should just do in my free time.

Though it would be cool to make my posters scratch n’ sniff like the way that they should smell.

WHAT DOES YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC SMELL LIKE?

So, what does YOUR favorite music smell like?

THANKS

Thanks!