A trigger sets in motion a particle present in the atmosphere, which in turn infects its closest companions, triggering a domino reaction, until we have a group of millions of particles excited in a geometric dance at the same frequency. This is how sound propagates in the air, an art of nature that allows us to hear what is happening at distances far from us. Our ears have been privileged to act as receivers of the fluctuating frequencies around us. But they can not only be heard, they are also revealed to the eye in perfect geometric shapes that are studied by the science called cymatics.
Vibration is the most primary melodious origin, thanks to the vibrations that travel quickly through the air, we can capture sounds. Perhaps it sounds very abstract and thinking about it in an environment that is invisible to the eyes makes it difficult to understand. But if these vibrations are transferred to physical surfaces, such as a glass cup or a metal plate, the phenomenon is more than perceptible.
The birth of cymatics
Perhaps if you are an explorer of sounds and the ways in which they manifest, you have ever tried the wine glass trick. Simply slide your fingertips gently over the surface of the mouth of the half-filled glass to obtain a melodious song. The vibration will seem imperceptible to the naked eye, but suddenly one notices that the liquid inside begins to show waves in its center that spread in time with the vibration.
In the 18th century, the German lawyer, physicist, designer and musician Ernst Child had already developed a fascination with the behavior of sound. With his treatise Entdeckungen über die Theorie des Klanges (Discoveries in the Theory of Sound), he demonstrated that apart from being fascinating, the structure of sound can be translated into complex patterns visible to the eye. He developed his own technique to show the world his discoveries, which is why he is considered the father of acoustics.
Their methodology consisted of manufacturing metal plates with different thicknesses and attached to a fixed base in a way that allowed free vibration of the material. He would place sand on the flexible metal surface and then use a violin bow to rub the edges of the plate. Immediately geometric poetry emerged from the sound vibrations that directly impacted the metal plate. The sand was gradually regrouped through sound vibrations, until it formed complex patterns. Thus he demonstrated that sound can be seen and later, Hans Jenny, a Swiss researcher, took up Child’s experiments, naming the science that is responsible for the study of sound vibrations as cymatics.
water for sand
Since then, more minds have emerged attracted by the geometric poetry of sound, evolving cymatics to the development of complex instruments. CymaScope is one of them, which uses instead of sand for the revelation of visual sound patterns. It is more complex than experiments with metal plates, as the sound impressions emerge in much greater detail for study.
Thanks to CymaScope and cymatics, it is possible to turn the invisible into the visible, music is no longer just auditory. If you are curious about what a song would look like, here is an example of the analysis of Debussy’s Claro de Luna under CymaScope.