Doo-Wap (Non-Lexical Vocables In Music)

Typographical animation representing the use of non-lexical vocals in music

Typography is the visual part of a text. It plays an essential role: writing could not exist without its graphical aspect that gives it to see, whatever the system (alphabetical, ideographic or mixed). Typography is closely related to writing: it gives to read and reveals the sense of a text. It defines itself as the text's "servant".

Expressive typography (such as the one used - among others - by Massin and Herbert Lubalin) consists in investing the letter with a function that goes beyond the simple transcription of a text. The letters visually express the oral language and incarnate it by playing with their body and their fatness but also their orientation (whispering, shouting).

After having heard that scat (song without words, peculiar to jazz, using onomatopoeias rather than words to improvise, just like an instrument) was a vocal form that described emotions going "beyond words", I thought it would be entertaining to try to transcribe verbally those forms of abstract interjections used in many musical styles, to produce an animation of their sound and their visual representation. The idea is to translate with signs known by many (Latin script) an international tongue that is not meant to be written (non-lexical vocals in music). In fact, it is a language used as a basis for music teaching (before learning how to play an instrument, isn't it necessary to know how to sing it?). Many musicians use it (when they try to describe orally the melody they have in mind). Moreover, is accessible to all (it's a language that fits all languages).

By this approach, my intention is to link my interest for both music and graphic arts (and more precisely, typography) by using a language that could seem senseless, but that translates nonetheless a universal concept.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• animation
• film
• art
• expérimental
• jazz
• musique
• typographie
• typography
• scat
• motion
• play
• words
• type
• letters

[naxps]

You forgot, "trolololo"

[xelalilith]

@naxps "trolololo"? is it a joke or a real song (I'm curious about all kinds of onomatopoeia!

[xelalilith]

@all thanx for your support!

xx

[xelalilith]

hehe...thanx for the comments!

sgilbert92: no, I haven't done anything with Charles Amirkhanian's Lexical Music...any suggestion? ;)

[yaxu]

Lovely! Where is this from + where can I read more?

[xelalilith]

Sorry for answering so late, I just finished translating the description text in english. Originally, it was my final project for a MA in graphic design. Thanx for your support, let me know if there is anything else you would like to know.

Cheers.

[ninjamoogle21]

@naxps u r right because strongflipman used trolololololololo 4 robot commenteray

[dezfortytwo]

Absolutely Great! just re-posted/shared as an example of technology,art, and the haptic sense!

[tmt686]

great! 

[SamuraiXX011]

awesome! XD

[dotmered]

Fab.

[Kravera911]

cool!

[SwimFanx]

Wow.