Jas. H. Duke on Sound
“There exists an artform that (like an elephant) is instantly recognisable but (again like an elephant) is difficult to define. This is where a human voice, a remarkably versatile device, is modulated to produce loud sounds, soft sounds, high sounds, low sounds, fast sounds, slow sounds and all sorts of sounds in between. Ever since the dawn of time people have made sounds come from their mouth and nose. Some of these sounds get put in the box marked `speech’ while other get put in the box marked music. Some don’t seem to be either and can’t find an appropriately labelled box. But when looked at closely our `speech’ and `music’ boxes can be seen to have elastic sides and to have a lust to couple with each other.”
I think this is an elegant quote concerning our initial stance on sound, maybe it’s just the mention of elephants.
However, to perceive sound as elastic is an interesting idea. As with many things in life we can’t just categorise elements into neat boxes – nature is beautifully messy and sometimes unpredictable and I think it is sometimes in the inbetween places, where lines are blurred and barriers eroded, that beauty can be found. This may be through the broken cracks of a sea wall, where nature has made its home and begins to envelope and enhance the built intervention. Or through our voices power to communicate, or defend, to demonstrate passion or display a timidity that our body language might disguise. Our speech, vocabulary and tone all have the ability to create and convey different and powerful things.
“There exists an artform that (like an elephant) is instantly recognisable but (again like an elephant) is difficult to define.”
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