Sonic Possible Worlds

Abstract

This essay introduces the idea of Possible World theory as a potential strategy to engage in and debate sound: sonic works, the acoustic environment as well as musical compositions. The suggestion is that possible world theory allows for a consideration of the soundscape and sonic works as environments, as sonic worlds that offer an alternative view, a possible and even a possible impossible view, challenging and augmenting what we pragmatically refer to as the actual world, which is invariably legitimised and situated within a visual and linguistic understanding. The benefit of possible world theory for sound art is understood to lie in its ability to analyse what is ‘proposed’ by sound: It allows for an exploration of the invisible, the possible, the “then what..” of a sonic “if that…”, rather than limiting itself to the notion of one actuality. Additionally Possible World theory’s modal approach: the idea that possible worlds exist in a universe of mutually accessible and thus cross referential worlds allows the listener to not only access sonic works as environments, as sonic worlds, but to be able to compare and cross-reference a variety of different sonic works understood as worlds within one sonic universe – establishing a comparative field that can facilitate the analysis of diverse sonic works across genres and times.

• http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/supp...
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/LMJ_a_00168