Visualisation of Multi-scale Formal Diagrams for Music Analysis

This paper presents visualizations of a paradigmatic and syntagmatic dynamic multi-layered representation of musical pieces. We implemented a software called Multiscale Oracle Representations For Organized Sounds (MORFOS) that automatically builds formal diagrams from musical data, according to a cognitive simulation of the memory behavior while listening. A coherent visualization is a valuable aid for music analysis to represent simultaneously the different levels of the musical structure.Three visualizations are presented: the first one is the superposition of two-dimensional formal diagrams for all levels of structure. The second and the third ones superimpose in three dimensions the diagrams and emphasize in different ways the links between the structural levels. In such visualizations, the musical form, organization, and structure can be visualized as three projections on planes sharing the same time axis. Because of their coherence with cognitive procedures, all these visualizations are particularly useful to understand complex musical phenomena better.