N. Senada (which may be a play on "Ensenada", "en se nada", meaning "in himself nothing," "no sé nada", meaning "I don't know anything" or "enseñada," a form of the past participle meaning "taught"; N. may stand for "Nigel") was a Bavarian composer and music theorist who formulated the "Theory of Obscurity" and the "Theory of Phonetic Organization". There is a debate as to whether or not he existed, or was simply an invention of The Residents. Supposedly born in 1907 and dying in 1993 at the age of 86, Senada was one of The Residents' earliest collaborators, having arrived in San Mateo, California, with Philip Lithman. It is frequently speculated that, if real, N. Senada may have been the famous avant-garde composer and instrument-designer Harry Partch, the influence of whose work may be heard in Residents' compositions such as "Six Things To A Cycle"; his death is also referenced in the song "Death In Barstow".