Investigating the Shared Meaning of Metaphorical Sound Attributes

Abstract

Music or sound professionals use specific terminology to communicate about timbre. Some key terms do not come from the sound domain and do not have a clear definition due to their metaphorical nature. This work aims to reveal shared meanings of four well-used timbre attributes: bright, warm, round, and rough. We conducted two complementary studies with French sound and music experts (e.g., composers, sound engineers, sound designers, musicians, etc.). First, we led interviews to gather definitions and instrumental sound examples for the four attributes (N = 32). Second, using an online survey, we tested the relevance and consensus on multiple descriptions most frequently evoked during the interviews (N = 51). The analysis of the rich corpus of verbalizations from the interviews yielded the main description strategies used by the experts, namely acoustic, metaphorical, and source-related. We also derived definitions for the attributes based on significantly relevant and consensual descriptions according to the survey results. Importantly, the definitions rely heavily on metaphorical descriptions. In sum, this study presents an overview of the shared meaning and perception of four metaphorical timbre attributes in the French language.

Shared mental representations underlie metaphorical sound concepts

“…However, recent studies also reported that the meaning of some well-known metaphorical sound concepts are highly dependent on each other 3,10,18 . For instance, the concept of 'warmth' , or 'roundness' have really similar OPEN 1 Sound Perception and Design Group, STMS, Ircam − Sorbonne Université − CNRS − Ministère de la Culture, 1 Place Igor Stravinsky, 75004 Paris, France.…”

“…3 Lund University Cognitive Science, Lund University, Box 192, 221 00 Lund, Sweden. * email: rosivictor2@gmail.com and intermingled meanings 10,19 to the point of using one to define the other 18 -making them even more difficult to be explicit on their own. Similarly, the concepts of 'brightness' , 'sharpness' , and 'clarity' are very close 18,20 while potentially being used for different purpose 20 .…”

“…* email: rosivictor2@gmail.com and intermingled meanings 10,19 to the point of using one to define the other 18 -making them even more difficult to be explicit on their own. Similarly, the concepts of 'brightness' , 'sharpness' , and 'clarity' are very close 18,20 while potentially being used for different purpose 20 . Furthermore, the relations of opposition existing between multiple concepts are not explicit.…”

“…Furthermore, the relations of opposition existing between multiple concepts are not explicit. For instance, one may wonder if the observed opposition between roundness and brightness 18,19 is dependent on comparable acoustic traits as the one between warmth and brightness 18,21 . Incidentally, it adds another degree of complexity to the definition and purpose of metaphorical sound concepts.…”

“…We chose these metaphorical concepts because of their metaphorical nature as they can be used to describe other sensory stimulations. Furthermore, they are frequently used in the professional fields of sound and music 3,6,7,28 , and show both strong similarities (e.g., roundness vs. warmth) and specificities (e.g., brightness/warmth, roundness/roughness) 18 that we aim to investigate. The three participant groups display intrinsic homogeneity in terms of expertise.…”