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A modest proposal - Euphonogens

Mr Wobble

Mr Wobble

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Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
294
I started a thread in EADD about substances that enhance the perception and appreciation of music.

It struck me that there really ought to be a term to describe drugs with this property, in a similar way to hallucinogen, entactogen etc.

After considering Musicogen (corny, doesn't trip off the tongue), Symphoniogen (hmm, not quite the right connotation) I finally came up with:

Euphoniogen. [EDIT: Euphonogen, is better - see below]

Any thoughts? Useful? Apt? Any other suggestions?

(Euphonia is from the Ancient Greek for sweet voiced.)
 
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Nice to see you made it over here to Swirly Central, Mr Wobble :)

For reference, said thread is here - feel free to visit Eurotrashland and add your own suggestions, PD folks. Always nice to see a bit of interforum action :)
 
I like the idea, but I can't really think of any drugs that have this specific effect on music that don't have it by virtue of their other properties. Pretty much all psychedelics can increase your appreciation of music, and if it's going to be a useful term it needs a narrower scope than that. DiPT is the only substance with an especially profound effect on music that comes to mind, but by all accounts it makes music sound disharmonious, not better.
 
I get your point Yerg. I still think that, at least from my own experience, the property of enhancement of music, can be so profound and deep that it really warrants a descriptive term of it's own. This property seems to vary from drug to drug even where other properties may be similar - mushrooms don't really result in any greater enjoyment of music for me (at least I've never noticed it), but they can certainly be as psychedelic or euphoric as LSD (though in their subtly different ways).

So, for example, using my new term I might say that I find LSD to be more euphoniogenic then mushrooms.
 
To an extent, almost all(almost is the key term) drugs make music better in some way shape or form. I agree with yerg on this one.
 
I may just to disagree. Can see what Mr Wobble is getting at. I think different drugs can have very different effects on music. Some do amazing and unique things. Others are more just generic all-round enhancement. I think it's the specific differences between the drugs and their form of enhancement that are interesting. Although enhancement is pretty vague and subjective, admittedly.
 
Personally I appreciate the idea and good formulation of our experiences is a good basis for understanding it a little while we are not having them and try to recall them, since language forms a large part of our reality's shape.

But in this case I see the term having some curiosity in the present but no future at all, for the same reason we don't need a trivial name for 4-Pro-DAlT: there is hardly any use for it :)

We all dream stuff up of course ;) Next time I welcome you to mention your dreams in the social thread for miscellaneous pish poshiness.
 
Ha! I just like the word cos it sounds great. Maybe not the most vital addition to the language but a good word is a good word nonetheless. And it is a good word :)
 
I suppose it depends upon how important or enjoyable one finds the enhancement of music appreciation to which a given drug lends itself.

I absolutely love, love, love getting lost in music. It's far more important to me than CEV's, OEV's and other visual enhancement. Don't get me wrong, I am rather partial to a grand mountain landscape, sunsets, beautiful wimminz etc. under the influence, but music is, for me, just a much deeper and more enjoyable experience.

I am quite musical - I play classical guitar and I'm a bit of a synth geek too (cos classical guitar goes so well with synths ;) )

OTOH I was shocked to learn that a close family member didn't get the whole MDMA>music synergy, but then, he has shite taste in music... =D
 
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Does euphoniogen make sense?

Eu = true

so it would imply that you are hearing sound more truly rather than just an amplification or hallucination with the sound.

maybe hypophonigen, or some other greek prefix, but I really think Eu- misrepresents it.
 
^Eu=good.
c.f. euphoria, eudaimonia, eugenics e.t.c.
 
Qnick said:
Does euphoniogen make sense?

Eu = true

so it would imply that you are hearing sound more truly rather than just an amplification or hallucination with the sound.

maybe hypophonigen, or some other greek prefix, but I really think Eu- misrepresents it.
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No, eu = well (i.e. 'in a good way') is the usual meaning of the word, both in ancient greek and as a prefix in english. For example, euthymic = good mood; euthanasia = good death.

Hypophonigen would mean 'making sounds smaller' or something.

I think euphonogen would be better, though. The stem used from the greek word for sound or voice is usually phono, not phonio. For example, phonograph, phonology, etc.

And yes, many drugs have a positive impact on perceived sound quality, but that doesn't make the term useless. There are many stimulants, but one may say one drug is more stimulating than another. Likewise, there are many euphonogens, but some may be more euphonogenic than others.

Re: DiPT; I find that it displays considerable direct euphonogenesis, separately from and in addition to its indirect effects (both positive and negative, depending on the sort of music and strength of the effects) on pleasantness via the changes in the harmony of the sounds. To clarify this distinction: by indirect effects, I mean those distorting DiPTlich effects that I'd still experience if you reproduced them by software digital signal processing when I was sober; and which I'd still find beautiful or abhorrent (depending on the music and extent of the distortion). By direct effects, I mean the drug effects over and above any indirect effects which result in music feeling better than normal; and which effects are present in varying degrees in many drugs including all those that produce no noticeable distortion per se.
 
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Euphonic = "denoting or relating to euphony; pleasing to the ear"

from the Ancient Greek euphonos = sweet voiced
 
I like the idea of a drug that would let you hear more truly though. A tab that could turn you into Daredevil for an evening. That would be the shit.
 
But I do far prefer the sound of euphonogen (without the 'i') - much better.

Thanks for the correction invert.:)
 
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Classical and nitrous has always been a favorite of mine....

But yea, a lot of drugs will do very different things for music. but most make music better, a lot of the music we enjoy listening to is the result of people on drugs....
 
phonos, when the stress is placed on the first syllable, means 'murder'. in greek the difference is expressed by the letter omicron in the second syllable, while 'voice, sound' is spelled with an omega. in the english alphabet, both these letters become the letter 'o'.
so take care to put the emphasis on the second syllable when vocally introducing your neologism =D

(eg. androphonos: man-slayer; murderer, killer.
when written with a capital: a title for the Goddess of Death-in-Life, Aphrodite, who earned many titles which might seem inconsistent with her beauty and complaisance or inclination to comply willingly with the wishes of others.)
 
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azzazza !? said:
phonos, when the stress is placed on the first syllable, means 'murder'. in greek the difference is expressed by the letter omicron in the second syllable, while 'voice, sound' is spelled with an omega. in the english alphabet, both these letters become the letter 'o'.
so take care to put the emphasis on the second syllable when vocally introducing your neologism =D

(eg. androphonos: man-slayer; murderer, killer.
when written with a capital: a title for the Goddess of Death-in-Life, Aphrodite, who earned many titles which might seem inconsistent with her beauty and complaisance or inclination to comply willingly with the wishes of others.)
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:D Drugs that produce really good murders!

You're right about the greek (except I thought that it was not a matter of stress, but the quality of the sound, i.e. the 'o' in 'cot' vs the 'oa' in 'coat'), but does that apply in english derivatives of it? 'Phonograph' is pronounced with the stress on the first 'o', and with the first 'o' being pronounced variously as an omicron or an omega depending on the speaker's accent, and the second 'o' being pronounced variously as an omega or as a neutral vowel. Conversely, 'phonology' has its second 'o' stressed and pronounced as an omicron, while the first 'o' is pronounced variously as an omicron, omega or neutral vowel, depending on accent.

Are there even any english derivatives from 'phonos' meaning murder?

My inclination would be to prounce 'euphonogen' as 'juː'fɒnədʒən' (in IPA), by analogy from the standard pronunciations of 'euphonic' and 'hallucinogen'.
 
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