Property of recorded sounds which expose, suggest or at least do not hide the source to which they belong. A vector pointing in the opposite direction to interiority, it refers to the 'non-abstractness' of sounds, i.e.: to their context away from intrinsic criteria of perception. By referential sounds I should like to designate only those which point towards a more macroscopic setting, referring to natural scenes and phenomena, human or mechanical activity. It is not their real origin that matters, but their power of evoking extrinsic settings. A referential sound can even be of synthetic origin: e.g.: a filter sweep in a band of white noise could refer to 'wind'. (Source - Rodolfo Caesar (1992). The Composition of Electroacoustic Music. PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia.)

Propriété qu'ont les sons enregistrés à montrer, suggérer ou, du moins, ne pas masquer la source dont ils proviennent. Ce concept est en opposition à celui d'intériorité, il désigne les sons non-abstraits, c'est-à-dire les sons dont le contexte prime sur les critères intrinsèques perçus. À travers le concept de son référentiel, Rodolfo Caesar ne désigne que les sons qui induisent une perception plus macroscopique, se rapprochant de scènes ou de phénomènes naturels, d'activités humaines ou mécaniques. Ce n'est pas leur origine réelle qui importe mais plutôt leur pouvoir d'évocation d'élément extrinsèque. Ainsi, un son référentiel peut aussi avoir une origine synthétique, par exemple, le filtrage d'une bande de bruit blanc peut évoquer le bruit vent. (Source - Rodolfo Caesar (1992). The Composition of Electroacoustic Music. Thèse de doctorat, Université d'East Anglia.)

Proprietà dei suoni registratiche espongono, suggeriscono o almeno non nascondono la fonte a cui appartengono. Se si considera il discorso dalla parte opposta, non della generazione ma della percezione e in relazione al contesto, si parla di non astrattezza di suoni. Rodolfo Caesar cita il suoni che puntano verso una collocazione macroscopica, come le scene e i fenomeni naturali, l'attività umana o meccanica. Non è la loro origine reale, tuttavia, che interessa, bensì il loro potere di evocare situazioni estrinseche. I suoni referenziali possono anche essere di origine sintetica, per esempio nel caso di un rumore bianco filtrato che simula il vento (Fonte - Rodolfo Caesar (1992). The Composition of Electroacoustic Music. PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia).

Property of recorded sounds which expose, suggest or at least do not hide the source to which they belong. A vector pointing in the opposite direction to interiority, it refers to the 'non-abstractness' of sounds, i.e.: to their context away from intrinsic criteria of perception. By referential sounds I should like to designate only those which point towards a more macroscopic setting, referring to natural scenes and phenomena, human or mechanical activity. It is not their real origin that matters, but their power of evoking extrinsic settings. A referential sound can even be of synthetic origin: e.g.: a filter sweep in a band of white noise could refer to 'wind'. (Source - Rodolfo Caesar (1992). The Composition of Electroacoustic Music. PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia.)

Propiedad de los sonidos grabados que expone, sugiere, o por lo menos no oculta, la fuente a la cual ellos pertenecen. Un vector apuntando a la dirección opuesta al de la interioridad, que hace referencia a la imposibilidad de escuchar a los sonidos como algo abstracto, es decir, de percibirlos fuera de los criterios intrínsecos de su contexto. Como sonidos referenciales quisiera nombrar solo a aquellos que apuntan hacia un entorno más macroscópico, refiriendo a escenas y fenómenos naturales, o actividades humanas o mecánicas. No es su origen real lo que interesa, sino su poder para evocar entornos extrínsecos. Un Sonido Referencial puede incluso ser de origen sintético, por ejemplo: el barrido de un filtro sobre una banda de ruido blanco podría referir al "viento".

(Fuente: Rodolfo Caesar (1992). The Composition of Electroacoustic Music. Tesis de doctorado, University of East Anglia)