Forum Describing A Sound

I'm not so good at describing sounds. So, i'd love some help.

How would you describe the sound of a gentle breeze flowing through a corn/wheat field?

[quote=Wulfstan Crumble]I'm not so good at describing sounds. So, i'd love some help.

How would you describe the sound of a gentle breeze flowing through a corn/wheat field?[/quote]

When the fields are full the sound, to me, is a steady crackle or the sound of surf on a yellow sea. It depends on the mood you're trying to set.

Ah, thats a good one. I never thought of connecting it to surf but now that i thnk of it... Thank you very much!
It was a niggling point in this story i'm writing...opening scene and i cant describe a sound.

This is actually a really interesting point of discussion. I studied sound design in college, and it shows in my writing. The description of sound can bring so much to a scene or an entire story, and yet it's often neglected.

There are some technical ways to think about a sound, which are a good place to start if you don't want to go the way of the "it sounded like..." descriptions. In sound design, we discuss the quality of a sound using five parameters:

1. [b]Amplitude[/b] (volume). How loud is the sound? Is it a whisper or a shout? Does the character have to strain to hear it, or do they clap their hands over their ears to try and shut it out?
2. [b]Duration[/b]. How long does the sound last? Is it a long sound, or a short sound, or a bunch of short sounds put together, or a long sound broken up periodically by short sounds?
3. [b]Frequency[/b] (pitch). High or low? Somewhere inbetween, perhaps? A shrill, piercing sound? An ominous rumble? Is it something even within the range of human hearing?
4. [b]Timbre[/b] refers to the [i]color[/i] or the [i]shape[/i] of a sound. Is it dark? Is it bright? Is it irridescent and multi-faceted? Is it like a gently rolling meadow, or is it a rocky shoreline? Ribbons, or wire? What is the sound's [i]texture[/i]?
5. [b]Morphology[/b] describes how a sound changes over time. A sound that starts, stays the same, and then stops, isn't very interesting. Consider how it fluctuates, refering back to the previous four parameters. Because sound is fluid...it's always changing, and that's something that can be used to great effect in writing.

I love sound, and I love good, unique descriptions of sound in literature. So, if anyone is looking to enrich their descriptive writing, or just give themselves a healthy challenge, perhaps they should give sound a try?

Elise, thank you for such a detailed response. It was really interesting to read it. Especially as you studied sound design. I had never heard of this discipline before. It sounds really interesting. Sound is definately a rich form of description. One that i often forget or neglect due to ignorance. I have found it very hard to describe sounds accurately. Of course in literature it is not just about the sound. Just as a description is not just the facts. It cant be that dry. You are right.

Great addition Elise.

Those were really good parameters, Elise. I try to use them too, but i find that my writing gets a bit too technical for most readers when I begin to really describe the sounds in mysettings. I'd like to describe the sounds in the manner you describe, but I'm afraid of 'turning-off' the reader, so I just focus on one of the characteristics of the sound, and then move on.

But those were really excellent bits of advice, and I'm likely to expand my sound-description repetoire because of your advice.
Thanks,
Joshua

you could also use your characters' perceptions of the sound. Perhaps have it trigger a memory, good or bad, or use some other reference from the characters' POV

good suggestions above... also depends on what season it is... is the corn/wheat green or dry?

It was late summer before the harvest so it would be golden and dry.

The sound of a corn or wheat field just before harvest is an almost imperceptible sound, just a light rustle. However the atmosphere is heavy, full of the dust from the grain and anticipation of the harvest.

what a great and informative thread!

i've never actually given sound the thought it deserves. which is odd considering i'm a musician. i do suppose i should give it more credit that simply trying to pick vivid verbs and use poetic imagry to give it shape. Oh, wait is that good? I just realized I always use physical imagry to compare with the sound. Hm. I should think about that more before I try to explain it...

This thread is stimulating to read...people helping each other out in a literary way.
'tis nice.

There's an entire figure of speech called 'Onomatopoeia'. It's the word from of sounds. Maybe this link would help :

http://www.examples-of-onomatopoeia.com/

As for wind blowing through a corn field, I'll say "Hushing through"

the gentle zephyr brushed through the wheat field like my lover's fingers brushing my hair. :)