Sonic image and acousmatic listening*

• Authors: Daniel l. Barreiro
• Venue: Organised Sound
• Year: 2010

This article explores the concept of sonic image in acousmatic music. Such a concept is understood as mental representations motivated by sonic stimuli that reach the listener in an acousmatic listening situation and that can be determined by a focus on either the intrinsic or extrinsic aspects of the sounds – or even a combination of both. The intrinsic aspects are related to the inner characteristics of the sounds and are, therefore, accessed through reduced listening. They are not dependent on the identification of the sources that caused the sounds or possible meanings and connotations conveyed by them. The extrinsic aspects, on the other hand, are the connotations, meanings and references that lay outside the sounds themselves and that can be related to human experience in a broader sense, including domains other than the sonic. Since sonic images are not exclusively dependent on intrinsic factors, they can be the result of various kinds of listening attitudes not restricted to reduced listening. The article highlights the links between ideas presented by different authors who approach the issue of sonic image or who present considerations on other issues that may inform an understanding of sonic image in the acousmatic context. Since sonic image is dependent both on the intrinsic and the extrinsic aspects of sound, it is argued that it is a concept that can integrate (and possibly unify) different approaches related to acousmatic listening. The considerations on sonic image presented here touch issues regarding different listening attitudes, the relationships between sound and source, and links between sound and gesture, amongst other aspects. The approach taken here is focused as much as possible on the perspective of the listener rather than on the composer, although some considerations related to compositional thinking are occasionally exposed.