"What is the difference between hearing and listening? Once sound has entered through our ears, we begin to perceive through various listening modes. As our sight is influenced by psychological principles (known as Gestalt) and forms of illusion, so is our hearing. The perception of space, time, and tone follows certain rules laid down by our sensory system and processed by our brain, while entrainment is a special case of our body and mind being able to synchronise with an external rhythm that can then induce a specific physical or psychological state. Understanding how the potential, limitations, and quirks of our physiological and mental capacities influence our perception of the world through sound, will guide us towards concepts that can be applied in cinema."

Sound Design: the expressive power of music, voice, and sound effects in cinema, David Sonnenschein, Michael Wiese Productions, 2001, p.77

"We know that our neighbors' lawn mower sounds very different when it's mowing on the near side or the far side of the neighbor's house, it is still the sound of the neighbor's lawn mower. The sounds are different, but the name of the sounds is not (Metz). Systematically, the name of a sound refers to the production of sound and not to its consumption, to the object making the sound rather than the person perceiving it.
Having learned to distinguish between various versions of the 'same' sound, our ears tell us how to react not on the basis of the sound event alone, but also according to our perceived relation to that sound event."

Altman, R. (1992), Sound Theory, Sound Practice, Routledge

“The delicate problem of synchronising music and image became an obsession during the 1920s. Achieving optimal synch was the reason variable-speed projectors were used, since they allowed the image to wait for or catch up with the music . During the silent er at least two machines were perfected to resolve the problem: Carl Robert Blum’s Rhythmonome, an ancestor of the “bande rythmo”, used for voices and music in french auditoriums, and Pierre de la Commune’s Cinepupitre, a machine Honegger used for his musical accopaniment to Abel Gance’s La Roue (1923).”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p34

The birth of synch found itself using very primal techniques compared to the array of ways synch is produced today. Interesting that it is the sound that dictated the speed of visuals in comparison with todays hierarchy of production.

“the music accompaniment that we hear in the film [City lights, by Chaplin] is not aleatory, but rather it is what the director intended, and composed and synchronised with the images so that it would play - and perhaps more significantly, so that it would not play - at the exact moments he wished it to”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p35

This is the use of nonsynch as an evocative tool rather than purely establishing a reaction sound.

“And in cinema the very principle of sound effects is based on synchronism: a sound that falls at the same time as a visual movement will automatically stick to it, even if the sound’s consistency, color, and timbre are hardly even coherent with the visual phenomenon it accompanies. This is what I call synchresis - a phenomenon that is independent of reasoning and also of the question of power and causality.

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p38

This is the fundamental base of sound design which underlays the creative potential sound designer utilise.

“But the imaginary of the sound cartoon derives part of its force from the imaginary of radio more precisely from the acousmatic imaginary (a word of Greek origin, applied here to signify sound that one hears without seeing its cause), an imaginary triggered by the novel and enigmatic effects on the public of radiophonic and telephonic sound.”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p39

Is this nondiegisis?

“In the musical cartoons of the period [1920s-1930s] machines are rare, with the notable exception of the automobile. Of course, as we have already seen, musical instruments - a type of machine after all - and especially the piano, a remarkable instrument in the mechanical provenance of its sound - are omnipresent. In an endless double movement we are shown how music emerges from sources, each more burlesque than the last (skeletons playing their own bones, insect orchestras, steamboat organs), while symmetrically the images that show us each source seem to be fruits of pure fancy that have evolved from listening to a sound - a sound whose real source, we know full well, is not what we are being shown.”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p42

This is the use of instruments as sychresis.

“the music in today’s audiovisual art is radically separated and cut off from the world of noise. With the disappearance of the direct link between man and machine, music is no longer put forward as the rhythm of the modern world. Our present computerised and electronic world no longer has a pulse that might unite and give rhytm to the multitudinous sound of life. Even the notion of a rhytm of the wolrd has a different ideological meaning now. Associated in the early 1930s with modernism and the idea of technical progress - and the media driven unanimity: the radio and the telephone uniting distant lands and peoples as one sees in Allo Berlin? Ici Paris! (Julien Duvivier, 1931) - it has become a New Age theme, associated with the return to nature.”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p43

Sound design has altered its appearance and acceptance throughout its near centurary. The cultural testament of different decades has dictated its direction and the sound designers approach.

“Is naturalism therefore the very essence of the sound film? We often hear this idea, but I believe there is also a historical factor involved; cinema was born into an era of naturalism, when fewer plays were being written in verse and more painters, writer, and other artists sought to represent reality. When sound cinema arrived, films followed the existing trend”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p46

A good sound designer will make sound film unnoticeable as the sound will be perfectly dissolved within the image. The contrary jumps out the the audience instinctively.

   Sound Design Techniques

Audio Dissolves:

“Audio disolves became an obsession in the early sound films. La Chienne goes from a player piano in a cafe to a cuckoo clock in Legrand’s apartment. Much of M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse relies on audio dissolves. Because sound mixing was still rudimentary, and did not yet allow for the gradations and blending that woud come later, directors sometimes found it useful to match or disolve the last sound of one scene with the leadoff sound in the next.”

Film, a sound art, by Michel Chion, p47

too loud for too long

Sound is measured in units called decibels. Decibel levels begin at zero, which is near total silence and the weakest sound our ears can hear. By comparison, a whisper is 30 decibels and a normal conversation is 60 decibels. An increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it sounds twice as loud. The sound of an ambulance siren at 120 decibels is about 1 trillion times more intense than the weakest sound our ears can hear. Sounds that reach 120 decibels are painful to our ears at close distances.

Scientists believe that, depending upon the type of sound, the pure force of its vibrations at high decibel levels can cause hearing loss. Recent studies also show that exposure to sounds at harmful decibel levels triggers the formation of molecules inside the ear that damage hair cells. These destructive molecules play an important role in hearing loss in children and adults who listen to loud noise for too long.

NIHL is related both to the decibel level of a sound and to the amount of time you are exposed to it. 
The distance you are from the sound also matters. A sound gets louder as you move closer to the source and softer as you move away from it. If you are far away from the sound, its intensity and its potential to cause damage are much lower. In addition, the impact of noise adds up over a lifetime. If you are exposed to loud sounds on a regular basis, your risk for permanent damage adds up as you age.

NIHL is also related to a person's genes. Some people are more likely than others to develop NIHL when they listen to certain sounds. Scientists are working to determine which people are more at risk for NIHL and which are less at risk. For this reason, we all need to protect our hearing when we are exposed to loud noise.

Researchers who study hearing loss in the workplace have found that a person who is exposed to noise levels at 85 decibels or higher for a prolonged period of time is at risk for hearing loss. For this reason, these workers are required to wear hearing protectors, such as earplugs or earmuffs, while they are on the job. Many devices that children use today have noise levels much higher than 85 decibels. For example, an MP3 player at maximum level is roughly 105 decibels. That's 100 times more intense than 85 decibels! Scientists recommend no more than 15 minutes of unprotected exposure to sounds that are 100 decibels. In addition, regular exposure to sounds at 110 decibels for more than one minute risks permanent hearing loss.

http://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/info/Pages/howloud.aspx

What is noise-induced hearing loss?

Every day, we experience sound in our environment, such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise—sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time—sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). These sensitive structures, called hair cells, are small sensory cells that convert sound energy into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back.

                                                      

NIHL can be caused by a one-time exposure to an intense “impulse” sound, such as an explosion, or by continuous exposure to loud sounds over an extended period of time, such as noise generated in a woodworking shop.

Sound is measured in units called decibels. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it sounds twice as loud. The humming of a refrigerator is 45 decibels, normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, and the noise from heavy city traffic can reach 85 decibels. Sources of noise that can cause NIHL include motorcycles, firecrackers, and small firearms, all emitting sounds from 120 to 150 decibels. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur. Sounds of less than 75 decibels, even after long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss.

Although being aware of decibel levels is an important factor in protecting one’s hearing, distance from the source of the sound and duration of exposure to the sound are equally important. A good rule of thumb is to avoid noises that are “too loud” and “too close” or that last “too long.”

Exposure to harmful sounds causes damage to the hair cells as well as the auditory, or hearing, nerve (see figure). Impulse sound can result in immediate hearing loss that may be permanent. This kind of hearing loss may be accompanied by tinnitus—a ringing, buzzing, or roaring in the ears or head—which may subside over time. Hearing loss and tinnitus may be experienced in one or both ears, and tinnitus may continue constantly or occasionally throughout a lifetime.

Continuous exposure to loud noise also can damage the structure of hair cells, resulting in hearing loss and tinnitus, although the process occurs more gradually than for impulse noise.

Exposure to impulse and continuous noise may cause only a temporary hearing loss. If a person regains hearing, the temporary hearing loss is called a temporary threshold shift. The temporary threshold shift largely disappears 16 to 48 hours after exposure to loud noise. You can prevent NIHL from both impulse and continuous noise by regularly using hearing protectors such as earplugs or earmuffs.

Scientists believe that, depending on the type of noise, the pure force of vibrations from the noise can cause hearing loss. Recent studies also show that exposure to harmful noise levels triggers the formation of molecules inside the ear that damage hair cells and result in NIHL. These destructive molecules play an important role in hearing loss in children and adults who listen to loud noise for too long.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Ira Newborn Interview

"RS: (8) It's interesting. Some would say that one who writes in many, many styles is kind of a "jack of all trades" and perhaps a master of none, yet in your situation you managed to not only foil that notion, but I think you possess a musical signature. Can you site any specific elements in your writing that perhaps lead people to perceive your music that way?
    IN: That's a hard one. Basically I don't... I enjoy many different styles of music, so I don't actually try and copy them. I try and find out what is the kernel of truth in it, the color, what it is that makes it what it is."


Compositional Process in film Scoring: An interview of composer/guitarist Ira Newborn
Ron Sadoff, Music and the Moving Image, June 2010,vol. 3 issue 2, p.16


Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949 in New York city) is an American musician and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Newborn) Wikipedia.com


Ron Sadoff asks Ira Newborn how he manages to apply his own "signature" to established genres of music. Newborn replies  he depicts the fundamental aspect of style in a genre and to reapply these for his own original material.

"The greek word 'harmonia' is not an essentially musical term: it simply means 'fitting together', and its root is the same as that of both 'arithmetic' and 'rhythm'.It implies a kind of numerical order."
- Philip Ball, 2010, The Music Instinct, London, Vintage.


Oxford dictionary definition of 'consance' and 'dissonance':

consonance in music - "a combination of notes which are in harmony with each other due to the relationship between their frequencies"

dissonance in music - "lack of harmony among musical notes"

"...these likes [consonances] and dislikes [dissonances] probably involve very little that is innate, but are rather mostly the products of learning."
- Philip Ball, 2010, The Music Instinct, London, Vintage.



What Philip Ball is depicting is the way we audit musical notes together can leed to varied views depending from which ever ones upbringing may be. Some puritan traditionalists are displeased with the notion of clashing cords. They think one must stick to the defined rules of note and cord correlation and sequencing. Examples such as Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven show mostly the use of tonal hierarchy. Some notes are naturally attracted to one another. But on the contrary Stockhausen, Debussy and Boulez cherished atonalism. As for when ethnomusicology proliferated at the end of the 20th century the battleground between tonalism and atonalism became for composers a cultural form of engaging music. The sensory dissonance is an interference of the acoustic waves due to the discrepancy of tonal frequencies.