whitney music box

From KrazyDad (via Scott) is this great combination of music and visual art. Produced with Flash, the Whitney Music Box and its 17 variations are based on the ideas of John Whitney. The dots travel in a circular patter and strike different notes as they pass the white line. As KrazyDad explains:

when the pattern forms a 3-arm starfish, the chords you are hearing are diminished chords, which consist of minor thirds, an interval in which the notes are 3 chromatic steps apart. The chords you hear always bear this type of relationship to the pattern you are seeing, consisting of intervals which match the arrangement of arms.

I just think it looks cool, and I especially enjoy the stereo and the hand-cranked versions. Check it out.