Sound: An Acoulogical Treatise
Michel Chion is a composer, filmmaker, teacher, researcher, and the author of several books, including Film, A Sound Art; The Voice in Cinema; and Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen.
James A. Steintrager is Professor of English, Comparative Literature, and European Languages and Studies at the University of California, Irvine; he is the author, most recently, of The Autonomy of Pleasure: Libertines, License, and Sexual Revolution.
Noise and Music: A Legitimate Distinction?
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Published:January 2016
This chapter explores the characterization of certain types or instances of sound as noise and in particular the distinction within the musical domain between supposedly inherently musical sounds and noisy ones. Western musical theory and practice have privileged tonic sounds, that is, those with precise pitch, and have overlooked or diminished the relevance of complex sounds, that is, those with nonperiodic frequency structures or variable pitch. Linguistic and cultural conventions further guide how we hear sounds as either noisy or noble. Acknowledging the constructive and constraining effect of language on aural perception can make us more open listeners and allow...
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