An Analysis on Music Maps with Their Symbolic and Graphic Representations

Abstract

The idea of making music meaningful, which is an abstract concept, leads to a need for developing various visual materials in line with today’s contemporary music education approaches. One of the visual materials that can be used in line with this need is the maps that involve use of symbolic and graphical elements (lines, pictures, shapes, etc.). These materials, which can be used efficiently to perceive, analyze, and interpret music as a whole, making musical structures and concepts meaningful, can be named as music maps in a general expression. In this research, 12 music map examples in literature were investigated through content analysis method, which were created in line with different purposes and methods and which are different from each other in terms of their styles. It was tried to reveal the purposes, methods, and application fields of music maps according to the findings achieved through the visual contents that were found in the 12 music maps in total, investigated under the themes of “Structural Content” and “Musical Content”. Results of the research showed that music maps are creative and original materials that would contribute to those who implement them, for various purposes in their practices at different levels of the general, amateur, and professional music education processes. Accordingly, it is thought that the visual music map examples and the analyses on these maps in this study will be a guide for trainers, students, and performers who want to use music mapping methods, as well as for parents.