The Fundamental Attribution Error in Sound
In social psychology, the Fundamental Attribution Error is a false association between expectation and present circumstances. When you see a car approaching you expect it to sound like a car, or when you hear a telephone, it is actually a telephone ringing, and not an appliance.
The "Fundamental Attribution Error" in music has existed ever since effects processors have been used. A good example is the "keytar", a portmanteau word for keyboard-guitar, in which an effected (affected) guitar sound is played on a synth.
In the early days of guitar synths, musicians were jubilant about the possibility of making a guitar sound like other instruments.
In 1981 I attended a clinic by Pat Metheny where he demonstrated use of a Roland guitar synth through the Synclavier II. While this is ancient history, the idea of making guitars sound like other instruments is still an interesting idea. With electronics, why be caged into only natural acoustic properties?
Divorcing sound from its object and re-marrying it to another is a useful creative strategy, but perhaps not in situations where safety is an issue.
In the future (if/when all vehicles are electric) they will need to be assigned new sonic identities. They may be retro samples of old muscle car notes or Model Ts or future-retro cliches. But they will need to sound like cars.
Like guitar effects, "car effects" in the future will be the new industrial design of sound, using the natural constraints of what a car should sound like. But if history is a guide, the after-market industry will most likely include "ringtones" for cars, which might be a dangerous metaphor, as they might not sound like you expect, and might be just as annoying as "real" ringtones.
Sound is fashion...
The "Fundamental Attribution Error" in music has existed ever since effects processors have been used. A good example is the "keytar", a portmanteau word for keyboard-guitar, in which an effected (affected) guitar sound is played on a synth.
In the early days of guitar synths, musicians were jubilant about the possibility of making a guitar sound like other instruments.
In 1981 I attended a clinic by Pat Metheny where he demonstrated use of a Roland guitar synth through the Synclavier II. While this is ancient history, the idea of making guitars sound like other instruments is still an interesting idea. With electronics, why be caged into only natural acoustic properties?
Divorcing sound from its object and re-marrying it to another is a useful creative strategy, but perhaps not in situations where safety is an issue.
In the future (if/when all vehicles are electric) they will need to be assigned new sonic identities. They may be retro samples of old muscle car notes or Model Ts or future-retro cliches. But they will need to sound like cars.
Like guitar effects, "car effects" in the future will be the new industrial design of sound, using the natural constraints of what a car should sound like. But if history is a guide, the after-market industry will most likely include "ringtones" for cars, which might be a dangerous metaphor, as they might not sound like you expect, and might be just as annoying as "real" ringtones.
Sound is fashion...
