Shamanic Diffusions
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190671181.003.0006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that electroacoustic music can portray and evoke unreal or hallucinatory sound-worlds, and that listening to compositions based on altered states of consciousness is typically introspective or meditative. Proposes a conceptual model for sound design that distinguishes approaches where sound 'represents' altered states from those where it 'induces' them, treating these functions as distinct yet related. |
Abstract
Abstract: This chapter explores how electroacoustic music takes the listener on a journey through unreal, imaginary, or hallucinatory sound-worlds. The chapter commences with a general explanation of electroacoustic music, and how it may allow illusory representations of real and unreal sounds and spaces. Following this, various compositions of electroacoustic music are discussed, which are explicitly based on altered states of consciousness such as dreams, shamanic visions, and hallucinations. It is proposed that the typical listening experience of these compositions can be characterized as introspective or meditative in form. The analysis of these works is also used to inform a conceptual model, which defines possible approaches for sound design related to altered states of consciousness according to several dimensions. In particular, this model considers approaches through which sound may either ‘represent’ or ‘induce’ altered states of consciousness—functions that are considered as distinct, yet related.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |