sound: analytical frameworks

the next part of this module (one) looks at some frameworks to help analyse sound events.

frameworks: having frameworks for analysing sounds can open perspectives on what sound is and can be.

5 analytical frameworks:

frequency: sound is a time based phenomenon. sound evolves in time, acoustic events can be close together or not and may be described in terms of their density. there are times when there is no sound at all – silence, as important to the structure of sound itself – an interplay of sound and silence creates an acoustic event. this creates a sense of narrative and a moving from an A to a B. this is what we call sound frequency. how often things happen. density is the qualifier of frequency – it explains how man things are put in a particular time. frequency describes if things are heard or not. in music this might be described as rhythm.

perspective (intimate, local, global): 3 main categories. the sonic sphere, distance of sound made and sound received. intimate may be only what you hear at close proximity. consider what is the point of reference – who cannot hear who?

material frame: in a crowd sound, it would be impossible to hear/identify all the separate sounds – like an orchestra. the material frame is identifying the materials making the sound. deciding your material frame helps you to identify what sounds matter and what sounds do not.

time frame: the duration of the sound event – one hour? one second? specific? indefinite? timeframes may intersect with the timeframe of other sound events.

concurrency: polyphony where many voices add together to create harmony/discord depending on sound event – everything works together for that – can be intentional or not. there is a spontaneity of different sounds. you can use this framework to analyse how things are sounding together.