Taxonomies

Russolo's six families of noises of the futurist orchestra:

1. Roars, Thunderings, Explosions, Hissing roars, Bangs, Booms

2. Whistling, Hissing, Puffing

3. Whispers, Murmurs, Mumbling, Muttering, Gurgling

4. Screeching, Creaking, Rustling, Humming, Crackling, Rubbing

5. Noises obtained by beating on metals, woods, skins, stones, pottery, etc.

6. Voices of animals and people, Shouts, Screams, Shrieks, Wails, Hoots, Howls, Death rattles, Sobs

The influence of Russolo shows when Edgard Varèse writes in 1917:

Our musical alphabet is poor and illogical. Music, which should pulsate with life, needs new means of expression, and science alone can infuse it with youthful vigor. Why Italian Futurists, have you slavishly reproduced only what is commonplace and boring in the bustle of our daily lives. I dream of instruments obedient to my thought and which with their contribution of a whole new world of unsuspected sounds, will lend themselves to the exigencies of my inner rhythm.

Throughout his life he continued his engagement with imagining new ways of composing with sounds.

Ionisation, or Deserts, seem to be organised around timbral principles.

John Cage - Williams mix (about, realisation)

Six Sound categories:

A. city sounds

B. country sounds

C. electronic sounds

D. manually-produced sounds, including the literature of music

E. wind-produced sounds, including songs

F. small sounds requiring amplification to be heard with the others

Stockhausen defined 68 sound types for Mikrophonie I:

ÄCHZEND: groaning, creaking; BELLEND: baying, barking; BERSTEND: bursting; BRÜLLEND: bellowing, bawling; BRUMMEND: growling (low buzzing); DONNERND: thundering; FAUCHEND: hissing, spitting; FLÖTEND: fluting; GACKERND: cackling; GELLEND: yelling; GERÄUSCH: noise; GRUNZEND: grunting; HAUCHEND: exhaling (like a breeze); HEULEND: howling; JAULEND: wailing; KLÄNGE: pitched sounds; KLAPPERND: clacking; KLATSCHEND: clapping; KLIRREND: clinking, jingling; KNACKEND: cracking; KNALLEND: banging, clanging; KNARREND: grating; KNATTERND: chattering, flapping; KNIRSCHEND: crunching, gnashing; KNISTERND: crisping, crinkling; KNURREND: grumbling, snarling; KRACHEND: crashing; KRÄCHZEND: cawing; KRATZEND: scratching; KREISCHEND: shrieking, screeching; LÄUTEND: pealing, tolling; MURMELND: murmuring; PFEIFEND: piping, whistling; PIEPSEND: cheeping; POSAUNEND: tromboning; PRASSELND: spattering, jangling; PRELLEND: slapping, rebounding; QUAKEND: croaking, quacking; QUIETSCHEND: squeaking, squealing; RASCHELND: crackling; RASSELND: clashing, clanking; RATTELND: rattling; RATTERND: clattering; RAUSCHEND: rushing, rustling; REIBEND: rubbing; RÖCHELND: choking (rattling in the throat); ROLLEND: rolling; RUMPELND: rumbling, thumping; SÄGEND: sawing; SCHARREND: scraping; SCHLÜRFEND: shuffling, slurping; SCHNARCHEND: snorting, snoring; SCHNARREND: twanging, rasping; SCHWIRREND: whizzing, whirring; SINGEND: singing (whining); TÖNEND: ringing, resounding; TOSEND: roaring; TRILLERND: trilling, tinkling; TROMMELND: drumming; TROMPETEND: trumpeting; TUTEND: hooting; UNKEND: keening (or mourning with 'u'-timbre); WINSELND: whimpering; WIRBELND: whirling; WISCHEND: wiping, swishing; WISPERND: whispering; ZIRPEND: chirping; ZUPFEND: plucking.

You can check out excerpts from the piece here.

Denis Smalley discusses ideas of identity and transformation in electronic music and suggests the following as categories of sound production:

  1. Human utterance.

  2. Human gesture or activity (hitting, friction, etc using the sense of touch or implements) associated with a type of material (wood, metal, liquid etc).

  3. Musical instruments and their associated physical gestures. This is a purely musical extension of category 2.

  4. Mechanical sources or source-causes (machines or mechanised objects).

  5. Sonic signals (sirens etc).

  6. Animal utterance.

  7. Environmental sounds, with or without human or animal intervention, particularly sounds associated with the elements.

(of incidental interest is this short story by Borges about arbitrary taxonomies)

Since the work of Schaeffer in the 1940 we've seen quite a few approaches at a more rigorous and analytical investigation of sound and some attempts towards a theory of timbre.

(with thanks to Newton Armstrong)