son bruité

05:19 Feb 17, 2019
French to English translations [PRO]
Music
French term or phrase: son bruité
calling all musicians: does anyone know what a "son bruité" is in English?

Here is the definition in French:

Un son bruité est un son (produit par un instrument, par exemple une clarinette) auquel on rajoute une composante, généralement de manière électronique, (mais on peut aussi altérer le son produit de la clarinette de manière physique) qui fait que le son n'est plus « pur » mais entaché de bruit.

Thank you!
margaret


Summary of answers provided
4prepared sound
Richard George Elliott
4 -2noise
Laura Nagle (X)


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
noise


Explanation:
It's a vague term with a broad definition. The general tendency, in English as in French, is to specify the type of noise (distortion, feedback, prepared instruments, etc.) if at all possible, but the general term that covers all of this is simply "noise." The word doesn't necessarily have the negative connotation in a music context that it has in conversational language. (For a detailed discussion of its various connotations, see the intro to Marie Thompson's 2017 book Beyond Unwanted Sound: Noise, Affect and Aesthetic Moralism.)


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_in_music
Laura Nagle (X)
United States
Local time: 17:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  David Vaughn: I work often in this field, notably for the GRM. This is a not a useful translation.
2 hrs

disagree  Daryo: you can't turn "a pure sound with added noise" into simply some nondescript "noise"
6 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
prepared sound


Explanation:
In a contemporary classical music context, "prepared" is an adjective commonly used to describe the normal sound of an instrument distorted in some way. For example "prepared piano" (the phrase coined by John Cage), "prepared clarinet", "prepared instrument", "prepared sound".
While this fits the French definition provided above, and more especially the "manière physique" part, it should be borne in mind that the term "piano préparé" (for example) is also used in French. Nevertheless, it may work in this instance depending on the specific context.

Richard George Elliott
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  David Vaughn: As Richard notes, this term is habitually used for acoustic instruments, which have been physically altered to produce new sounds. Whereas the asker's definition focuses on electronic alteration.
26 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search