​A Narrative-Focused Radio Show

Results:

I completed the second series in combination with a course in the psychology of music. It culminated into one large loop of emotion, beginning with anger, reaching emotions including joy and sadness, and then returning to where it started.


I believe the project was beneficial in multiple respects:

  1. It allowed for a deeper examination of what components of a song affect emotion, and how that varies among people.
  2. It pushed me to explore new and unique sounds, and helped me to develop my storytelling abilities.
  3. It resonated with people! I have shared my story about the process countless times, and each time both the person and I take away something different and new.

My second series under the same name followed a different path exploring similar ideas. This time, I told my own stories, guided by the association between emotions and colors and resulting in one continuous cycle of representative music.

Round Two

A large amount of inspiration for the project came from the children's television show, the Reading Rainbow. I was also later inspired by Plutchik's wheel.

The Listening Rainbow

The Idea: 

Round One

The first approach took 10 pre-existing books and imagined what they would sound like as music. Each playlist follows the progression of the book, and can be played as a standalone or alongside a reading of the book. Here are three examples:

The Inspiration: 

I wanted to explore the possibilities of music and how it can represent things that we may not thing of as auditory.  I was looking for a way to both tell stories and test my boundaries.