KudoZ home » German to English » Music

tonloses Atmen

English translation: unpitched breathing

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs
(or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	tonloses Atmen
English translation:	unpitched breathing
Entered by:	Gert Sass (M.A.)

Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

13:18 Jul 1, 2011

German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music

German term or phrase: tonloses Atmen

Tonloses Atmen der Bläser, leise Bogenstriche quer über den Steg des Cellos, Geräusche des gestrichenen Marimbaphons – allmählich erst kommt das Ensemble zum Ton. [http://www.texthalde.ch/Holliger2-etc.htm]

Es ist ein tonloses Atmen, dennoch höre ich das Lied in allen Facetten sehr deutlich. [http://www.hermann-mensing.de/dezember07.htm]

I don't understand what 'tonloses Atmen' means in German and I wouldn't like to guess-translate.

Anybody out there who can help, please? TIA.

Leanne Coleman

unpitched breathing

Explanation:
(alt.: pitchless b.)
Previous suggestions are too unspecific, if not misleading in a musical context. Example 1 obviously refers to the *sound* which can be produced (in fact, which most beginners will inevitably produce before being able to properly handle their instrument) by just breathing heavily into a brass or woodwinds instrument with little or no lip tension. Composers have used such sounds deliberately to achieve certain effects.

Examples:
• Event Calendar V0.1

media.cla.auburn.edu/cla/EventCalendar/eventshow.cfm?... - Im Cache
30 Mar 2011 – The ***unpitched breathing*** of the violin at the end of the second piece signals the ultimate destination, arrived at in the suspended time of ...
►
• Display Event | Music | Auburn University
https://media.cla.auburn.edu/music/display_event.cfm?... - Im Cache
The ***unpitched breathing*** of the violin at the end of the second piece signals ...
Weitere Ergebnisse von auburn.edu
• [PDF]
Some Notes on the Composition of Rainstick for Tape Alone Gerald ...

www.gdbennett.net/texts/Notes_on_Rainstick.pdf
Dateiformat: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Schnellansicht
fire, water and ***unpitched breathing*** using the Csound programs mentioned above and soon had more material than I could possibly use ...
• OUP: Crosse: Peace - Oxford University Press

ukcatalogue.oup.com/.../978019355... - Vereinigtes Königreich - Im Cache
In Peace for Brass the basic dynamic is pianissimo and the gradation from silence, to ***unpitched breathing*** through the instrument, to sounding pitch can be ...
• London Sinfonietta at Kings Place, London N1 live reviews | Music ...

entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and.../live.../article4900872.ece
8 Oct 2008 – Then came the tiny Quintettino No 2 by Sciarrino, its bright clarinet notes scattered like dust in the ***unpitched breathing*** of flute, ...
• A Structure of Physicalities: Helmut Lachenmann's temA | Chris ...

www.chrisswithinbank.net/.../a-structure-of-physicalities-h... - Im Cache
29 Mar 2011 – 64 and in the movement from an ***unpitched breathing*** (of the group as a whole) to pitch and back in bb. 159 – 168. ...
• Most Valuable Players : San Francisco Classical Voice

www.sfcv.org/reviews/san...music.../most-valuable-players - Im Cache
4 Apr 2011 – Nearly every sound in this work is produced by extended techniques — key clicks, ***unpitched breathing*** through the instruments, and so on, ...
• Amazon.com: Personne's review of Flute Concertos by Dalbavie ...

www.amazon.com/review/RTF8BUKHWMY8A - Im Cache
Primarily consisting of disjointed segments, it features more keyslaps and ***unpitched breathing*** than it does actual flute playing. ...
• reviews_cs035

www.creativesourcesrec.com/reviews/reviews_035.html - Im Cache
While his partner concentrates on ***unpitched breathing*** sounds, Stackenäs masterfully alternates carefully selected bits of high frequency feedback and string ...

Less examples for ***pitchless breathing***:
• Sub luna, Erik Bergman

www.chesternovello.com/default.aspx?TabId...2... - Im Cache
The ***pitchless breathing*** and hissing sounds on the woodwinds may express unreal states." © Kimmo Korhonen, November 1998 (translated by © Susan Sinisalo, ...
►
• audience's expectations. Here, surely, is a subject worthy of full ...

ml.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/66/2/193-b.pdf
brief Latin quotation, he is accompanied only by an enigmatic rustle of ***pitchless breathing*** through all five wind instruments. Petrassi has suggested that ...
• Cell 133 | Gaia Online

www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php/?t...t... - Im Cache
14 Beiträge - 2 Autoren - Letzter Eintrag: 12. März
The only thing that could remotely be heard was the soft sound of ***pitchless breathing***. Two beds, walls, a bathroom, everything painted and ...
• Sub luna Op. 116 (1990) - Fimic - Suomalaisen musiikin tiedotuskeskus

www.fimic.fi/.../106E0B2BECF9A68AC22574AB002AEB... - Im Cache
The ***pitchless breathing*** and hissing sounds on the woodwinds may express unreal states." © Kimmo Korhonen, November 1998 (translated by © Susan Sinisalo, ...

Selected response from:

Gert Sass (M.A.)
Local time: 04:17

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +2

unpitched breathing

Gert Sass (M.A.)

4 +1

soundless/noiseless breathing

Marci Warner

aspiration

Ramey Rieger

toneless breathing

efreitag

Summary of reference entries provided

Info

Kim Metzger

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

35 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

soundless/noiseless breathing

Explanation:
This is the common term amongst musicians when referring to "silent" breathing. I find soundless slightly more poetic but I believe that noiseless is a little more common.

Marci Warner
Germany
Local time: 04:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

unpitched breathing

Gert Sass (M.A.)
Local time: 04:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 24

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Joel Schaefer: This is it. The idea is to make an audible sound by breathing through a wind instrument, NOT silence. The audience is supposed to hear something. The first example mentions bowing over the cello's bridge (my instrument) and a bowed marimba.

1 hr

-> Thanks for your apt comment, Joel. I had also considered pointing out the metaphorical use of "breathing" (which actually seems widespread, even among piano instructors) but then decided to avoid complicating matters by going in too much detail ;-)

agree

efreitag: Yes, this should work well in the context (although breathing CAN have different pitches depending on which valves etc. are used)./FWIW, pitch and tone are both technical terms./ In any case, it's not silent, that's what's important here.

1 hr

-> Agree with your last sentence. WRT pitch vs. tone, it may be a matter of colloquial vs. technical speak: An average NS of E might not perceive much of a difference here, as a physicist should. FGR however, the wording DID work for the referenced sources.

30 mins confidence:

toneless breathing

Explanation:
Das ist ein Effekt bei Blasinstrumenten: Man betätigt Ventile/Klappen etc. ganz normal, atmet aber nur durch das Instrument, ohne mit den Lippen/dem Mund einen Ton zu erzeugen. Die wörtliche Übersetzung scheint auch im Englischen gebräuchlich: toneless breathing:

"Although musical performance has always included non-musical noise which is inessential and even a distraction – for instance, the toneless scraping of the violin bow, or toneless breathing sounds on wind instruments – during the twentieth century, the boundary between music and noise acousmatically defined was qualified. In the modernist era, beginning with the introduction of siren glissandos and other industrial noise by Varèse and Antheil, sounds which are unpitched or not discretely pitched were allowed into western art music"

http://www.andyhamilton.org.uk/andy_pdfs/Rowe_AnM.pdf

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 Stunden (2011-07-01 16:47:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Of course, this is not the same as soundless/noiseless. It is supposed to be heard.

efreitag
Germany
Local time: 04:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 56

5 hrs confidence:

aspiration

Explanation:
I misunderstood the first round. this is the intentional sound of breath in wind instruments - Ian Anderson used it quite expertly.

Ramey Rieger
Local time: 04:17
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Reference comments

9 mins peer agreement (net): +2

Reference: Info

Reference information:
I'm not enough of a musician to be sure about this, so I'm just posting something that looks like it might be on the right track.

Silent breath exercise
Now that you have the proper breathing technique, fill your lungs in a single silent gulp of air.
While maintaining proper support and control, slowly breathe out through your lips. Slowly let the air out as if you were gently blowing through a small straw. Do not actually make a sound.
It should take you at least a minute (60 seconds) to slowly let all of the air out of your lungs. You should not be gasping for breath at the end of each breath.
Pay close attention to keeping your abdominal muscles tight and keeping your air pressure up to singing levels and your breath control even and smooth throughout the exercise.
Pay close attention to keeping your throat and mouth and tongue loose and free throughout the exercise. Your throat and larynx should not tighten up.
Repeat this silent breathing technique several times as a warm up before every practice or performance.

http://www.thissideofsanity.com/lesson/vocal/breathe.html

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 74

Return to KudoZ list

Changes made by editors

Jul 15, 2011 - Changes made by Gert Sass (M.A.):
Edited KOG entry	Gert Sass (M.A.)'s old entry - "tonloses Atmen" => "unpitched breathing"
Jul 15, 2011 - Changes made by Gert Sass (M.A.):
Created KOG entry	KudoZ term => KOG term

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

Overview

Latest translation questions

Ask a translation question

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

tonloses Atmen

English translation: unpitched breathing

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Reference comments

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

tonloses Atmen

English translation: unpitched breathing

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Reference comments

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.