The Sound(s) of Colour

Colour as a notational tool has been explored in theory and practice alike, affording a wide range of interpretative possibilities for performers. This chapter shares findings from three years of the author’s long-term practice as composer and artist-researcher exploring colour as notation in a variety of musical contexts and visual mediums. Through arts-based action research, 11 new “colour-scores” were created and workshopped with performers, centring their perspectives to examine their musical responses to colour as notation and the processes and frameworks which enabled players to musically interpret colour cues. Musical interpretation of colour is situated here within theories of cross-modal correspondence (CMC), which examine the human capacity to associate phenomena across one or more sensory modalities. This chapter introduces a new theory of “cross-modal interpretation,” describing the multi-step process of translating colour to sound during which participants first accessed CMCs between colour and sound then physically enacted them on their instrument. Findings reveal insights into how players exercised cross-modal interpretation to respond to characteristics of colour and contextual visual cues; while mediated by situational and intrapersonal factors, the strength and consistency of their reported associations indicates the richness and depth of cross-sensory meaning afforded by colour-scores.