The Iconic Microphone

This paper discusses the iconicity of the microphone both as a physical object but also as a transducer and shaper of a distinctive mediatized sound. Different facets of iconicity are examined in order to tease out the multiple meanings and usages of this ubiquitous artifact. In addition to the physical object, whether hidden or highlighted, used as a prop or as a crutch, common microphone usage since the early days of radio have resulted in an iconic mediatized sound, which has realigned the way we experience the spoken word and the musical voice.