Absent

Characterize a sound object which is not audible.

Acoustic signal

Shape of the pressure wave which moves the air molecules.

Acoustic space

The space of sound signals. The reference marks are the amplitude and the time.

Anharmonic

Same as aperiodic.

Aperiodic

Characterizes an acoustic signal which has not the shape of a vibration.

Appearance

An absent or not existing object becomes present within the sound space.

Audible

Perceptible by a listener in the conditions of listening.

Auditive topology

Way of describing the space inherent to the auditive perception, that is, by describing every new part of the space relatively to the memorization of the space still looked through.

Beating

Series of strenghtenings and weakenings of the sound level due to the mixing of two very close frequencies.

Close

Characterizes a sound object the spatial origin of which looks to be close to the listener.

Color

The dimension which includes all the distinctive properties of sound objects.

Complexity of a form

Is measured by the minimum number of points needed to entirely determine it. As example, the straight line complexity is 2.

Concrete music

Music composed from sounds recorded in the real world.

Continuous form

Set of juxtaposed points constituting lines or surfaces.

Decibel

Logarithmic measure of sound levels.

Determinist

Ruled by cause and effect laws, thus, in our words, previsible with certitude.

Differential threshold

Minimum sensible differency of the sound level.

Disappearance

A present object becomes absent from the sound space

Discrete

= quantized (in our words)

Dithering

Set of points put on a preestablished weft.

Dominated

Characterizes a sound object the audibility of which is reduced by others.

Dominating

Characterizes a sound object which reduces the audibility of the others.

Doppler effect

Shifting of frequencies due to the emitter and receiver relative speed.

Duration

The dimension of the time perceived by the listening subject.

Envelope

Shape of the signal amplitude variation in function of time.

Feedback

Sending back of a process result toward the control of this process.

Formant

Form identifiable on a sound object, applying on its duration, its color or its presence.

Fractal form

Complex form resulting from a recursive breakdown of a simple form according to a repetitive process.

Fundamental

Lowest pitched frequency composing a periodic sound.

Harmonic

1.A frequency multiple of the fundamental of a periodic sound

2.Harmonic signal = periodic signal

Height

Frequency of the fundamental of a sound, expressed in Hz or according to a scale.

Immediate memory

Function of the memory which automatically and temporarily records perceptions. Synonym : phosphorescent memory.

Inaudible

Characterizes a not audible sound object, either because under the audibility threshold, either because masked by other sound object or some noise.

Indifferent

Characterizes a sound object uninteresting for the listerner

Interesting

Characterizes a sound object interesting for the listerner

Known

Characterizes a sound object that the listener identifies.

MIDI

(Musical Instrument Digital Interface.) Standard for remote control of electronic instruments, based on the characteristics of an organ keyboard.

Musical object

Sound object providing a musical interest. (SCHAEFFER)

Musical space

The imaginary space of sound beings. There is no reference mark.

Musical work

A duration ranged between two silences that contains an intended set of sounds.

Noise

1. Anharmonic sound object.
2. Unwanted sound object

Pain threshold

= saturation threshold.

Pattern

Re-usable preestablished form. = texture.

Perception threshold

Minimum audibility level, expressed in phones.

Periodic

Characterizes a vibrating signal.

Persistent

Characterizes an sound being able to be retrieved in the memory.

Phase

Time lag expressed in a fraction of period of a periodic signal (a period rates 360° or 2p).

Physical space

The trivial space where the listener stands, including some objects and the air which carries the sound. Reference marks are distance, elevation, azimut, and time.

Pink noise

Signal having a spectre with a shape of bell, centered on a single frequency (curve of Gauss)

Predictability

Ability to be wholly or partially foreseen by a human being.

Presence

The dimension for the sound intensity and spatiality as perceived by the listening subject.

Present

Characterizes an audible sound object.

Punctual

Characterizes a sound object the spatial origin of which looks like a spot.

Random

Ruled according to probability density laws.

Random form

Set of points randomly arranged, thus according to a density probability law.

Redundancy

Extent to which a scheme is repeated inside a form.

Remote

Characterizes a sound object the spatial origin of which looks distant from the listener

Resonance

Effect of a system which focuses all the energy that it receives towards a single frequency.

Saturation threshold

Maximum audibility level, expressed in phones.

Scaled

= dithered (in our words).

Sensibility threshold

= perception threshold.

Sound

Sound object with an harmonic dominance.

Sound being

Abstraction of a sound object.

Sound effect

Imitation of real world sounds, made thanks to mechanical or electroacoustic means. Mostly includes three plans : the subject, the illustration, the surroundings.

Sound event

Appearance or disappearance of a sound object.

Sound group

Object constituted from several similar objects.

Sound landscape

= sound matter.

Sound matter

Set of classical or innovative textures or patterns, imposed or choosed for the composition.

Sound object

The shortest audible object able to be individually identified

Sound space

The space of perceptible sound objects. The reference marks are presence, color and duration.

Sound window

Natural or deliberate boundaries for the three dimensions of the sound space.

Spectre

List of the frequencies resulting from the breakdown of any signal into periodic signals.

Spread

Characterizes a sound object the spatial origin of which looks like a surface or volume.

Tone

Generic color of sounds emitted by an instrument played by a musician.

Understandability

Ability to be identified and understood by an human being.

Unknown

Characterizes a sound object that the listener cannot identify.

Visual topology

Way of describing the space inherent to the visual perception, that is, by a synchronous global vision of the whole space.

White noise

Signal having a spectre which includes all the audible frequencies with the same amplitude.