Summary On Sound Matters
Summary on Sound matters: Notes toward the analysis and design of Sound in the Multimodal Webtexts
We cannot get away from sound (335-336). It easily incorporated with PowerPoint presentations with soundtracks, Flash works with multiple sound events, and webtext with embedded video and audio. Rhetoric and composition scholars “have discussed the visual a great deal, but [they] haven’t as of yet turned [their] attention to sound” (336). The author shares his experience of how he, a composition teacher, wrestled with the issues of sound in writing. While he was trying to address sound, he noticed that students “intuitively had a sense of how to use sound”(337). However, they lacked a cohesive framework for doing so. In this article, Mckee presents a four part framework for addressing sound
1) the element of vocal delivery Things to consider when dealing with Vocal delivery
· Tension: how tight or strained
· Roughess: how raspy and throaty
Breathiness: how airy or intimate
· Loudness: how booming or soft
· Pitch: how high or low
· Vibrato: how trembling it sounds
When working with voice the strive is for clarity and seamlessness, yet we should not forget postmodern and disruptive approaches.
2) The element of music Things to consider: Sensuous plan
· The medium
· The quality of sound produced
· The dynamics or the intensity of the soundExpressive plane: the feelings the sounds evokes
· A busy can suggest unease or nervousness
· A slow passage in a minor key can suggest gloom Sheerly musical
· A movement of the piece
· The pitch
· The structure of the pieces Music is used in conjunction with other elements of sound as well, especially dialogue.
3) The element of Sound effects
· Provide information about a sence
· Serve as cue reference
· Helps in mood creation
· Act as an emotional stimulus
Sound is used good when it works subconsciously heightening, tension, manipulating mood, and drawing you in the “world”.
4) The element of silence Silence does not consist of the absence of sounds. Silence can work in conjunction with other elements of sound to illustrate the many to create mood and atmosphere.
5) Returning to considerations for an integrated approach Sound is not a fixed, isolated mode, nor should it be considered in isolation. We should consider how sound events might occur and discover how sound events make webtext better. Sound play crucial roles in such important areas as setting the mood, building atmosphere, carrying the narrative, directing attention, and developing themes in multimodal works. It is an arena that should be explored more with respect to webtext compositions.
