The subject of the current research is the exploration of the mutual relations between music and architecture. Their conceptual intersection is twofold. It can be understood as “musicality” in architecture, or “spatiality” in music, depending on the point of view. The latter is the current topic of interest.
In this attempt to explore the intersection of the two fields (music/architecture) we focus on the subject of graphic music notation systems. Developed during the second half of the 20th century to the present day, a significant number of composers created these “spatial” notations with variety of perspectives in order to express their music. The procedure through which an idea is “captured” in the form of a “sketch” that gives birth to a musical song is a major aspect, whereas the final step of its interpretation and performance as a song by a musician is a minor concern of the current research.
The third chapter provides an overview of the systems presented and attempts an experiment to correlate the graphic scores with architectural data in order to produce a potential mathematical equation that could describe the transition between sound and space.
In the last chapter an effort is made to extend this correlation in other fields of expression, comparing music, architecture, literature, painting and sculpture. Key concepts that function as a starting point are sound, timbre, space, dynamic, subjectivity, clarity, repetition, emphasis and structure/form.
