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The semiotic richness of sound

#1
Magical Realist Offline
It occurs to me that light is not the only sensory medium upon which we have structured our sense of the Real. Sound too comprises a medium of almost infinite richness and diversity for the ontologizing mind. Think first of the meaningfulness of sound in its most primal and natural sense. The sound of the wind thru the trees. The screech of children playing in the distant yard. The hum and crack of the train as it passes thru the night. Each sound denoting a particular physical event. Sound carries it's meaning within itself as to the source of its generation. It reveals Being innately.

Then consider the use of sound in speech. The myriad ways in which consonation and tone and accent are structured to represent language which makes present a sort of abstract yet non-physical kind of Being. "I'm going to the store." Immediately everyone in the room anticipates this event as if it were bound to happen.

Finally consider music. The subtle variations and melodies and changes of tempo that floods our souls as we listen to a favorite piece. Who can decipher the hidden phonetics of tone, amplitude, or rhythm that moves our emotions towards sublime or sensual reveries?

Sound is the mere structure of waves of air, that most intangible and ethereal of elements. And yet never does reality seem more present and intimate that when perceived in this invisible form. Sound might even be said to be more revealing of Being than light, remembering as we must that speech and the comprehension of speech precedes reading and writing by several years.
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