How do you picture a sound?
April 6, 2008 2:25 PM Subscribe
The word "pictured" means to imagine the way something looks. Is there a similar single word for imagining the way something sounds? How about in languages other than English?
I'm pretty sure I've borrowed 'pictured' to apply to audio, inaccuracy be damned.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:01 PM on April 6, 2008
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:01 PM on April 6, 2008
"Auralization" is a technical term for turning data into sound to make it more understandable. The term was invented by analogy with "visualization." It's not quite right, but I'm hoping that it will eventually broaden in meaning to become the word you want.
posted by moonmilk at 3:01 PM on April 6, 2008
posted by moonmilk at 3:01 PM on April 6, 2008
Best answer: In vocal music we use the word "audiate".
posted by spaceman_spiff at 3:14 PM on April 6, 2008
posted by spaceman_spiff at 3:14 PM on April 6, 2008
Play?
"Bob pictured the tapestry in his mind, recalling its great beauty."
"Bob played the symphony in his mind, recalling the familiar harmonies."
You could also use "hear", depending on which usage of "picture" you're trying to replicate.
"I can picture it now..."
"I can hear it now..."
posted by Rhaomi at 3:27 PM on April 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
"Bob pictured the tapestry in his mind, recalling its great beauty."
"Bob played the symphony in his mind, recalling the familiar harmonies."
You could also use "hear", depending on which usage of "picture" you're trying to replicate.
"I can picture it now..."
"I can hear it now..."
posted by Rhaomi at 3:27 PM on April 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah, it's audiate.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:46 PM on April 6, 2008
posted by ludwig_van at 8:46 PM on April 6, 2008
Wikipedia says Audiate (this is good. I didn't know this - and I'm an ex-professional musician. Probably why I'm ex...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiation
posted by geoscott at 10:26 PM on April 6, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiation
posted by geoscott at 10:26 PM on April 6, 2008
Professor Edwin E. Gordon coined the term. Here is a page detailing the term from his Music Learning Theory website. As you can see (hear?) the term is somewhat coloured by the Professor's own theoretical point of view (audition?).
posted by Sitegeist at 1:34 AM on April 7, 2008
posted by Sitegeist at 1:34 AM on April 7, 2008
At the risk of not answering/hijacking: I've learned something here. I'm a professional musician and I've never known that there was a word for this. I regularly say to my students "Can you hear this in your head?" or "Can you internalize this?". I guess we used to call this Innerhearing, but I haven't heard that term in twenty years. Anyway, thanks AskMe!
posted by ob at 8:02 AM on April 7, 2008
posted by ob at 8:02 AM on April 7, 2008
Response by poster: I hate to be picky (especially since I already favorited "audiate"!) but according to the wikipedia page, audiate (as per Prof. Gordon) specifically refers to music. Is there any one word that refers to imagining sounds in general? In any language?
posted by footnote at 7:47 PM on April 7, 2008
posted by footnote at 7:47 PM on April 7, 2008
Response by poster: Oops, I mean this page:
"Audiation is the process of mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language. The term audiation should not be confused with audition, the mere perception of sound. Audiation is also more than just a musical form of auditory imagery. Developed audiation includes the necessary understanding of music to enable the conscious prediction of patterns in unfamiliar music."
posted by footnote at 7:50 PM on April 7, 2008
"Audiation is the process of mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language. The term audiation should not be confused with audition, the mere perception of sound. Audiation is also more than just a musical form of auditory imagery. Developed audiation includes the necessary understanding of music to enable the conscious prediction of patterns in unfamiliar music."
posted by footnote at 7:50 PM on April 7, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rancidchickn at 2:45 PM on April 6, 2008