AUDIBLE
a discernible noise-event. the equivalent in language to a phrase or sentence
ELECTROACOUSTIC
the balanced experience of acoustic and amplified sound combined in architecture
GATED SOUND PIECE
a context that conceals sound ( media-stored or amplified performance ) from both the audience and a performer by means of an electronic gating circuit that remains closed until the intensity of a sound gesture reaches a threshold that triggers it open.
HYPER-SOUND
a technology that projects a narrow beam of audio that becomes audibly discernible upon hitting a surface. hyper-sound produces a rarefied psycho-acoustical experience characterized by a narrow frequency response
SOUND SCULPTURE
sculptural objects or mechanical contraptions that to produce or respond to acoustical sound. some are computer controlled mechanisms that play instruments like in the case of the Nickelodeon-like pieces by Trimpin. others are objects that move, change or display transformations governed by the physical presence of sound; as in the case of Alvin Lucier’s Music for Bass Drums, Pure Waves and Acoustic Pendulums, and Alba Triana’s vibrating object piece, Microcosmos. a third category involves contraptions that call for interactive audience participation or performance, like in the case of Brenda Hutchinson’s Giant Music Box, Alison Knowles’ Paper Weather Instruments and our own Duane Brant’s Sew Organ
MAPPING
using controlled feedback to reveal the acoustical nature of a given site
LOCATION, MOTION AND SPATIALIZATION
the psychoacoustical illusion or actual physical placement and movement of sound in space. this often achieved electronically by the use of multiple stationary speakers or physically by positioning sound sources or musicians at different locations of a given site
NOISE MELODY ( or Sound Melody )
a succession of Audibles
SOUND ART
the execution of sound events or situations, musical or otherwise, including actions that produce sound experiences, not of the ear, but of the sound mind
SMALL SOUNDS
sounds produced by small creatures and/or extracted from the sounding of tiny objects characterized by low amplitude levels not easily perceivable by the naked ear. these sound become audible with the aid of amplification
SOUND-PORTRAIT
a fixed media composition that results from explorations of the acoustical nature of recorded speech. a sound portrait seeks to hon in on discernible features of the particular tone of voice of a single individual
SOUND-TEXT
a sound-text is language composed or gathered by sound without concern for meaning. Kenneth Goldsmith uses this techniques to create performative text pieces and even entire books
SOUND-VIDEO
film, video or live camera works that feature images that are a visual record of the events producing the sounds we hear, or images that help augment our understanding of those sounds. these pieces include, evidence of sound phenomena captured on film, sonifications of spectral images, live feeds generated during performative pieces, as well as generative sound-video works
SOUNDING
the probing of objects by hand or tools to explore discover and bring out their inherent audible qualities and sound signature
SOUNDSCAPE
a natural or man made audible environment belonging to a place. the site-specific sounds within a landscape. the term was first coined by Murray Schafer
TRACING
the rigorous exploration performed by controlled means of the successive range of sound possibilities inherent within a system, mechanism, situation, object or condition. an example of this is the piece, Tracing the Radio Landscape, the sounds of which are obtained by slowly scanning the entire shortwave radio frequency spectrum with the turn of the radio dial. another example is Stone Guitar, which calls for the use of a smooth-faced stone ( in place of a knob ) to trace the entire length of the tight strings on an electric guitar from bridge to neck. this task is achieved by helping the stone bounce gently on the strings with a finger causing it to bounce and slowly travel up the neck. this bouncing action activates the sounds heard in the piece. Alison Knowles has a similar piece she created for cellist Charles Curtis called, Rice and Beans, which he performs by sounding the entire length of his instrument from head to toe