# What sound does running water make?



## JenHLewis (Nov 30, 2015)

Im writing a bath scene like a dance, a poem. Focusing on the way the water moves. Its rhythm. The narrative needs music, so I am trying to create the background melody of the taps running. The sound of water on water......what noise would that make? HELP!!!!!


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Nov 30, 2015)

The taps running in the bath? 

Going by memory:

Depending on the flow, it makes a pitter-patter like varying slaps. 

A heavy flow still makes that slapping sound, but also a deeper sound, closer to a rumble. Especially if you duck your head down and listen to it...

For research though: Why not take a bath?


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## Fats Velvet (Nov 30, 2015)

After the tub is partially full and the water is falling on water: um-ess, um-ess, um-ess, um-ess, um-ess, um-ess, um-ess.  Kind of runs together.


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## Firemajic (Nov 30, 2015)

jenH.. check out Onomatopeia .. a type of poetry that uses words to convey sound.. .. there are some fabulous examples of words you can use.. Hope this helps...


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## JenHLewis (Nov 30, 2015)

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> The taps running in the bath?
> 
> Going by memory:
> 
> ...



I am currently standing by my running taps, trying to put it into words...and failing


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## Firemajic (Nov 30, 2015)

sorry, I spelled that wrong.. it is Onomatopoeia...


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## Ariel (Nov 30, 2015)

And it isn't a type of poetry but a poetic device.  It's a word that sounds like the sound of what it's describing.  Hum, pow, pop, boom, hiss, and murmur are all onomatopoeia.

For running water the word murmur can be used, especially if you're talking about the sound of a slow-moving brook or stream.


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## JenHLewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Firemajic said:


> sorry, I spelled that wrong.. it is Onomatopoeia...



Hi thanks I had already looked into the Onomatopoeia dictionary - there doesnt seem to be a word that conveys the right sound...hmmm. its a tough one!


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## PiP (Dec 1, 2015)

JenHLewis said:


> Hi thanks I had already looked into the Onomatopoeia dictionary - there doesnt seem to be a word that conveys the right sound...hmmm. its a tough one!



Why not compare it to a sound a reader recognises? I'm just running a bath and it sounds like Niagara Falls. 


The hot tap is running on full and the bathroom is now like a sauna


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## JustRob (Dec 1, 2015)

It depends how much air the taps allow to mix with the falling water. A large amount of air gives rise to higher pitched hissing while very little air results in the lower frequencies from the impact of water on water dominating. I would describe the latter sound as "urbling" in that the water goes "urble, ubrle, urble." Using an artificial word like this suggests that the sound is something like burbling but in some way different. You can leave it up to the reader's imagination to determine how it differs. Always take advantage of the reader's imagination as well as your own. If they haven't any then they may dive for their dictionary and be disappointed that the word isn't explained anywhere of course.


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## Darkkin (Dec 1, 2015)

Onomatopoeia utilises words like _plish, plop_, _glug__...(Think old Batman reruns_.)  This is one of those situations where you might consider actually running a bath.  Listen to the acoustics of your bathroom.  Does it echo?  Some do, my mom's especially, mine at home, does not.  Run the tub and listen, just listen.  

Like a crystal goblet, the tones of the water change.  Deep and harsh at first, a charge into battle almost.  An argument between the cold porcelain and the blazing heat of the water.  It is heavy with a dark resonance that lightens, softens to a silken hush.  Gossip making its way down a grape vine.  A battle of wills broken down to a murmur and an occasional giggle akin to the brook.

Water, by its very nature, is inherently musical.  Never still, unless frozen, it is a product of its environment.  It can be deep and calm, bright and leaping, roiling.  It supports and so too, steals, bringing both change and destruction.  Before you try to define it, get to know it a little better.  Open your senses when doing mundane things like the dishes, filling a glass of water, or taking a bath.  Compare these experiences with other situations were the water was, how shall I couch this...Less domestic.  Such as a day on the river, boating on a lake, even wading in a pond or a creek.

Make a list of the adjectives, the sounds that come to mind, the sensations:  Sound, touch, taste, smell, sights, as they relate to your observations and situation.  You want this to be a dance, you need to tune your medium, which is the water.  Immerse yourself in its properties, the voices of the salt and the fresh, learn the ripple and the flow, the patter of rain as it chimes in the first bright wash of spring.  But most of all, listen...

- D. the T. of P.B.


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## escorial (Dec 4, 2015)

splish splash


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## patskywriter (Dec 4, 2015)

What type of shoes is it wearing?


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