Synthesia Talk

Posted: **03-05-23 7:16 am**

Hello to all
I haven't seen any requests for this so I'm opening a topic
For faster identification of descending notes the background is currently uniformly dark with only vertical lines between B and C and between E and F. In the same logic, would it be possible that the backgrounds of the areas from C to E be of a lighter (or darker) colour which would facilitate the quick identification of descending notes thanks to the division of the games into 2 zones more visible than the current vertical lines.
I had in another post "Associate a colour to each descending note (A,...,G)" proposed another solution but no answer !

Posted: **03-08-23 3:41 pm**

nelsius wrote: ↑03-05-23 7:16 am... would it be possible that the backgrounds of the areas from C to E be of a lighter (or darker) colour which would facilitate the quick identification of descending notes thanks to the division of the games into 2 zones more visible than the current vertical lines.

I'm driving myself a little crazy trying to remember this, but I want to say an absolutely ancient version of Synthesia did this at one point. I (presumably) thought it was a good idea then and I still think it's a good one now.

I don't have anything on the task list for this one and am having trouble imagining how it might be added. I could see a kind of full-blown "editor" style interface where you could design your own backdrop. (This would make more sense once pitch-based colors were added.) Or, on the other end of the spectrum, it could just be a small toggleable thing buried in a menu.

I'd be curious to hear from others about how useful this sounds. Usually, once I've got my digital piano aligned as best I can with the notes falling on the screen, it hasn't taken anything else to distinguish the different areas of each octave from one another.

nelsius wrote: ↑03-05-23 7:16 amI had in another post "Associate a colour to each descending note (A,...,G)" proposed another solution but no answer !

There were several answers over there from me and other forum users including one along the lines of "this is on the task list and will be added".

Posted: **03-23-23 4:54 pm**

This is a really good idea. I can't wait for the pitch-based color of the falling notes, but a two-color background would be very helpful too.

Posted: **04-05-23 11:11 am**

I'm really happy to hear that this is something that is being considered. I recently did some research on this topic with the hope of potentially being able to develop perfect pitch through color synesthesia (not the game, seeing sounds as colors).

My theory is that if the notes are color-coded that our brain will eventually start to recognize a similarity between the colors and the sounds and improve the ability to recognize pitch.

Some researchers have conducted studies to identify the most common associations between notes and colors. One of the most commonly referenced mappings is based on the work of Alexander Scriabin, a Russian composer and pianist who had chromesthesia. Scriabin's associations have been used as a starting point for some researchers in the field, but again, it's important to remember that these associations may not apply to all synesthetes.

Code: Select all

Based on Scriabin's color associations and adjusted for brightness across the octaves:

    C0 - Red: (76, 0, 0)
    C#0 - Violet: (38, 0, 76)
    D0 - Yellow: (76, 76, 0)
    D#0 - Steel gray: (38, 38, 38)
    E0 - White: (76, 76, 76)
    F0 - Green: (0, 76, 0)
    F#0 - Brilliant white: (76, 76, 95)
    G0 - Orange: (76, 38, 0)
    G#0 - Blue: (0, 0, 76)
    A0 - Rose: (76, 38, 38)
    A#0 - Dark gray: (25, 25, 25)
    B0 - Purple: (38, 0, 38)

For subsequent octaves, you can incrementally increase the brightness while keeping the hue and saturation constant:

Octave 1 (keys 13-24): Add 25 to each RGB component
Octave 2 (keys 25-36): Add 50 to each RGB component
Octave 3 (keys 37-48): Add 75 to each RGB component
Octave 4 (keys 49-60): Add 100 to each RGB component
Octave 5 (keys 61-72): Add 125 to each RGB component
Octave 6 (keys 73-84): Add 150 to each RGB component
Octave 7 (keys 85-88): Add 175 to each RGB component

For example, C4 (key 49) would have an RGB value of (176, 100, 100). You can apply this pattern to calculate the RGB values for all 88 keys.

I think in terms of implementation having a basic checkbox in the Key/Note labels would be ideal. In the settings section you could implement an option to change the base color in the case people want to experiment with other colors.

Synthesia Talk

Background colour of the note fountain