How does Russolo understand sound and noise?
Russolo understands sound and noise as art. He doesn't hear the noise of a machine running as an obnoxious filler, but as music. Russolo believes that the sounds and nosies found in every day life are more musical than those found in an orchestra. He doesn't believe that such music is truly the most beautiful of all sounds because of the fact that it's all planned out.
Has this changed your understanding of it?
Reading Russolo's thoughts made me take a second look at all the sounds found in every day life. I have always been open to the idea that instruments aren't the only tools that can create music, but I never stopped to think of orchestra music as something that should not be admired. I still believe that planned music is beautiful, but I will take a second thought as noises that I hear in my every day life.
How is he using language to make this essay a sonic experience?
He is using language to engage the reader in the sounds that he is describing. He wants the reader to imagine the sounds as they read the essay, so he uses as many descriptive words as possible to allow the reader to hear in their head what he is describing to them.
What are the "categories of noises" that he describes?
I'm not positive what the exact categories of these noises are, but here are my best guesses:
1) very loud noises
2) noises heard from a person's mouth
3) softer and more muted noises
4) annoying noises
5) percussive noises
6) animal and human noises
