Code Words
Music Puzzle #1
Translating Sounds
The very first music puzzle is a simple game of translation.
The task is simple:
You have a dictionary of sounds, each of which maps to a letter of the English language.
You’ll be provided with an audio containing an assortment of some or all of these sounds, in no particular order, and with or without repeats.
Recognise each sound in the audio and decode the corresponding letters.
If the puzzle ended there, it might feel like a long walk for a short swim.
To make it more puzzle-like, I’ve chosen the letters in such a way that they combine to form the English title of one of my all-time favourite animated movies.
So the final part of the puzzle is: rearrange the letters you decode so it’s the name of a movie.
Although you might not even consider this much of a puzzle, I thought this would be the easiest way to kickstart our journey into music puzzles here on Sound Insight.
Once you solve it, and if you haven’t watched this movie (or even if you have), I’d highly recommend that you do. I like to think of it as poetry through film.
The Sounds and Their Letters
First, the dictionaries.
Six letters — A, B, C, D, E, and I — have their counterparts in beat sequences. Here are each letter’s rhythms, in the same order:
Six other letters — P, R, S, T, W, and Y — are translated into pitch sequences. Here are their melodies, in the same order:
The Code
Here’s the coded audio (complete with distracting background music) that you’ll need to solve the puzzle:
All the best! Once you solve it, share what you have in the comments.
If you need more hints: This Oscar-winning movie’s score was composed by Joe Hisaishi.
I hope you give it a spirited attempt. Up, up and away!
Do you love music? And learning? Well, then Sound Insight is the place for you!
If you’d like to spread what you’ve learnt (and support me along the way ;D), please consider sharing this post.
If you’d like to learn more, please reach out through comments/DMs. I’d love to learn from you as well :)