Music: A Boiling Kettle - Essay Example

? A Boiling Kettle A boiling kettle creates different sounds depending whether it is full, half empty or almost dry. The time span it has been boiling will show a variation of pitch and timbre. This will change if the kitchen door is closed or opened and if the listener is inside the kitchen or on the other side of the closed door. If the listener doesn't know what he is listening to, his perception of determining where the source of water is coming from will be difficult to determine . Where he stands in the flat will determine his perception of the pitch and density of the sound as the mass of water boils away. Shaeffer's Listening mode will help our listener determine how he interprets the different sounds. The process of boiling water can be analyzed to show that it is a piece of acoustical art. Schaeffer's Listening Modes defines four different types of listening: Ecouter, Ouir, Entendre, Comprendre. These four concepts are important as The Quatre Ecoutes will determine how our listener will interpret the timbre, determine if it is sound or noise, the nature of the sound, and the difference of pitch. He will determine if the sound is emanating from danger or if he can have a cup of tea. (Ecouter) Listening to the kettle boil in the kitchen on the other side of the closed door changes the timbre. It is lower as the acoustic have changed and vibrate more in a closed room than if he were standing in the doorway. In the kitchen, the sound of the kettle is higher and it is louder. Having the visual perception gives you more density with the high and lows of timbre. If he were in a closed kitchen, the sound would be louder. Closing the kitchen door, and no longer having the visual perception of the kettle, the pitch is lowered. There can now be a question whether the the sound is emanating from outside and whether it is raining. The change of the sound still makes it impossible to tell if the sound is coming from rain or from the kettle. Often sounds of this type are called white noises to put someone to sleep. For "ecouter" to become "comprendre" with the kitchen door closed, the lowering pitch of the boiling kettle would have to create the perception or association of the sound of rain possibly being something else. The change in pitch as the water boiled down would indicate that it could be something containing water in the kitchen. The lowering timbre is a sign of danger as the water is boiling out of the kettle. As it sounds like rain, it is by a series of elimination that it is either something boiling , or the kettle boiling. Upon opening the door. The acoustics would change and the pitch would rise. The timbre would be more stringent. The kettle which is boiling water is a habit. The perception of the sound is so mundane that we would not even perceive it. This is possibly a sign of danger in day to day life. The sound is part of our passive listening as long as the physical day to day act remains the same. "Ouir is to notice without hearing. We notice the sound of cars passing. The sound of rain is mundane. The transition from "ouir" to "entendre" is choosing to identify actively what we previously hear as passive. Associated another sense with sound helps make the transition from "ouir" to "entendre" It often results in a response. Our whole day to day life style is structured by our acoustic space. We set our schedules by the sound of alarms. We identify are callers by different rings on our cell phones. Both examples can be called music or both can be noise depending on the time of day and the mood of the receiver. The kitchen is an acoustic orchestra: the kettle boiling; the cooker working; the dishwasher….Different dangers are determined by different sounds. Breaking glass or a ceramic dish has a different sound dropping on the kitchen floor than it does dropping on a wood floor. The results are the same. The listening experience is not the same. The kettle boiling is a small kitchen goes through five stages. 1rst stage is a double click and a buildup of a a multi tone high pitch chord where the density of the timbre does increase in mass but it does not increase in volume. The texture is grainy. There is a bass rhythm of a 6/8 wave. The lack of volume buildup is compensated by adding notes to the bass of the chord . The tempo is constant but the notes are added to the chord at the beginning of the measures. The melody changes with the sound of the water distinctly bubbling. The tone and timbre changes into a bubbling quality (1.42). The Acoustically sounding boiling water appears for the first time. There is no rhythm and the tempo is chaotic but the bass rhythm is still the same of the 6/8 wave. The higher pitch bubbling water goes into a clacking sound. At 2.11. there is a click and the chaotic sound slowly diminishes. The last stage is a diminuendo of sound indicating that the kettle was turned off and the water stopping boiling. There is a wind like quality of wind blowing between two small mountains. The recording stops. The proximity of a small kettle must be within site so all the different stages can be heard otherwise it is become ouir or can be replaced with another sound or considered mundane. The sound of a boiling kettle is rhythmical but also mechanical. Using the Quatre Ecoutes, gives the listener a chance to set his priorities. The recording shows the complexity of the acoustics. The amount of water and type of recipient also play an important role in the divergence of tone, rhythm and sound. The recording was musical which is a subjective observation. It has been shown that something as mundane as boiling water can be a work of art. The proximity of the listener changes the acoustic perception. This sounds or music of the kettle becomes the last mode of Schaeffer's Quatre Ecoutes: to understand. Read More