The intelligence of the ear

Abstract

This article is a corrected and enlarged translation of my article “L'intelligence de l'ouïe - Contributions pour un modèle d'intelligibilité de la perception timbrique en matière d'instrumentation et orchestration”, which appeared in the Acts of the
colloquium Penser la vision, penser l'audition, texts collected by Catherine Kintzler (2002). The updating of the problematic of this article responds to my desire to offer readers a theory that is capable of synthesising disciplines inherent to the composer's
work that have hitherto remained separate and independent, such as the additive synthesis specific to the study of electronic music and orchestration. Both activities are epistemologically founded on what I call in Spanish “La inteligencia del oído” (“The Intelligence of the Ear”), a title which, moreover, pays homage to Rudolf Arnheim's work The visual thinking, whose reading opened the way to my reflections.