A photograph 'depicts' its object. Is there a comparable word for audio recordings?
For example, "The recording [verbs] The Beatles playing Been a Hard Day's Night."
6 Answers
The verb depict can be defined as to represent, as a painting or picture does (that's from OED's definition for OP's context).
There is no "medium-specific" verb for representing something in an auditory, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile medium (songs, perfumes, statues, etc.). Figurative use, such as the song depicts [whatever it's supposed to "reflect, invoke"] is perfectly common. Otherwise, you can just use to represent in all contexts for all mediums.
The more "literal" general-purpose verbs include invoke, express, emulate, show, suggest, etc. Alternatives which are more "figurative" include reflect, capture, encapsulate, etc.
answered Nov 13, 2014 at 18:18
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1While depict might be "medium-agnostic" (not to be confused with a small atheist), it seems increasingly difficult to use "depict" as one moves away from the visual media. "This painting depicts Jane Eyre." "This statuette depicts the Statue of Liberty." "This song ?depicts 'A Hard Day's Night.'" "This scratch 'n' sniff ?depicts Absolut Vodka." "This ratatouille ??depicts a dish from my childhood." (Incidentally, shouldn't the plural for medium be media at the end of your second paragraph?)– rajah9Commented Nov 14, 2014 at 13:56
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I think This song ??? "A Hard Day's Night" is a slightly different context. In practice it's just a song title, not really something that can be "represented" using words or pictures. Though as I said, "represent" seems to work in all contexts where it's meaningful to equate an artwork with an external referent. As for the plural of medium, I'm happy with my usage - In art, where medium refers to materials used to create a piece, both plurals are commonly used. (But I fully expected someone to query it! :) Commented Nov 14, 2014 at 14:26
Capture could cover both photographs and sound recordings.
The recording reproduces The Beatles playing "A Hard Day's Night.", with a warmth and clarity that only Vinyl can deliver.
Music may evoke something or may reflect something. Eg:
Music evokes so many feelings in us, memories, nostalgia, things that are connected to our past.
If it is a digital representation, you could say
"This MP3
- ripped
- digitized
- encoded
- discretized
the Beatles rendition of A Hard Day's Night."
(These words may get to the partial representation with some loss of fidelity, but it must be of the original song and band.)
If it is a group other than the Beatles performing the song, you could say, "The recording covers The Beatles A Hard Day's Night." (This may get to aspect of the imitation or recasting of a song, and must be performed by a different band.)
And, for the record, I had no idea that Alvin and the Chipmunks covered A Hard Day's Night.
"Depict" is for artistic representation, not recorded or mechanical representation. That is, a "painting depicts" and a "photograph records."
However, your question appears to be about the representative meaning of a picture vs. the representative meaning of a piece of music. This is also relates to how you experience a painting - you view it. With music, you listen to it.
"Depicts" is a description of what the object you are interacting with is "doing" (it is "representing" something).
A painting "depicts" a subject. A musician "plays" a score. A singer "sings" a song.
When a musician plays or singer sings, it is their artistic representation of that music.
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