Geometry in Art and Music
A shape with three equal sides; also the three-note chord in music.
What is a triangle?
Repeating shape pattern in art; repeating beats in music.
What is a pattern?
Artist scales objects; composer balances loud and soft—this ratio is called…
What is proportion?
Lightness/darkness in color; softness in music volume.
What is value?
Mirror on two halves in art; balanced form in music phrases.
What is symmetry?
Five-line staff in music; also term for artist’s arrangement on their canvas.
What is a composition?
Sequence of notes; also visual motif on pottery or border designs.
What is a motif?
Math term for comparing two numbers also used for comparing instrument sizes.
What is ratio?
Term for increasing volume in music; also “getting darker” in a painting.
What is crescendo?
Circular symmetry in mandalas and rondo form in music.
What is radial symmetry?
3D shape with a circular base like a musical bell; also used in sculpture.
What is a cone?
In art, alternating stripes; in music, alternating strong and weak beats.
What is an alternating pattern?
Scale factor in scaling a drawing; also relates to transposing music up or down.
What is a scale?
Measure of sound level; similarly artists use light contrast to measure value.
What is decibel/value contrast?
3D shape with all points equidistant; analogous to uniform harmony in music chords.
What is a sphere?
Angle greater than 90°; composers sometimes pace melodies in this “space.”
What is an obtuse angle?
Visual pattern that rotates around a center; music repeated melody around a note.
What is a radial or circular pattern?
Enlargement or reduction in art; raising or lowering pitch in music.
What is transformation?
Very soft in music, Italian term; also faint light in pastel drawings.
What is pianissimo?
Symmetry around one axis; music mirror form like ABA.
What is bilateral symmetry?
A three-dimensional form with all faces identical parallelograms; seen in sculpture and music notation spacing.
What is a cuboid?
Complex repeating in art (like tessellations) and syncopated beats in music.
What is syncopation?
Dividing a line into equal parts in art; dividing a measure into equal beats in music.
What is unit partitioning?
Dramatic change from soft to loud—or light to dark in painting; this is called…
What is contrast?
The three-dimensional “body” of an art sculpture; in music, the “body” or main section of a composition.
What is form?