aesthesis

Haiku – Sumi-e – Nokia

Is there a musical equivalent to haiku?

Encyclopedia.com says…

(hī´koo) , an unrhymed Japanese poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which nature is linked to human nature. It usually consists of 17 jion (Japanese symbol-sounds). The term is also used for foreign...

adaptations of the haiku, notably the poems of the imagists. (here)

The closest style in art is sumi-e painting from Japan. One web page say of sumi-e “Sumi-e means: Black Ink Painting. Black ink on white paper, simple, elegant and serene. Simplicity is the most outstanding characteristic of Sumi-e. An economy of brush strokes are used to communicate the essence of the subject.” (here)

In haiku the poet creates complex, recognizable images using just a few verbal sounds. Sumi-e painting creates recognizable images using just a few terse brush strokes. The Aesthetic of each art form is based on economy, simplicity, and the involvement of the audience.

My first musical response was minimalism. “[M]inimalist compositions tend to emphasize simplicity in melodic line and harmonic progression, to stress repetition and rhythmic patterns, and to reduce historical or expressive reference.” (here) Glass and other minimalist composers use repetition so that it’s difficult to keep your frame of reference for the experience.

Scroll down to to see a Haiku by Basho (“The greatest Japanese haiku writer.” Here) altered in accordance to the minimalist aesthetic.

The phoneme pieces of the minimalist version may form a cohesive whole and if interpreted correctly they may make sense but there isn’t the immediate image transfer that makes the original a treasure.

Minimalism in art is aesthetically different from haiku as well. Picture a large canvas covered entirely with one shade of red, or divided by a single black line, or filled with a composition that employs only to shapes. The economy is extreme but it doesn’t communicate a recognizable image to the viewer. The viewer is not allowed to penetrate the colored surface. Minimalist painting seems to say that a painting is not a picture, it’s just paint on a surface. Minimalist music seems to advance the theory that music isn’t a song, it’s just notes spread over the space time continuum.

So what is the musical equivalent to Haiku. I submit that cell phone ring tones are the closest musical counterpart to haiku.

Song based ring tones often boil a musical composition down to a melody line. Just one note at a time. In addition, ring tones often cut a small recognizable slice out of a larger composition. Further, the sound produced is synthesized rather than a recording of what a particular performance of the original sounded like.

Despite this major mutation of the original most people can still recognize the “Brandenburg Concerto” or “Fur Elise.” Our minds and memories can fill in the many musical gaps.

We can fill in the blanks in any given popular tune the same way that our brains transform meaningless flicks of sumi-e ink into mountains, horses, or what have you.

Further, your own connection with a particular song can be evoked even by the mediocre (or worse) copy of it. In the same way, it is your own experience with jar cracking cold that lets the first line in the Basho haiku communicate a whole winter of imagery.

For Haiku, sumi-e, or ring tones to fulfill their image carrying capability, the audience must be engaged. The notes, or ink, mean little on their own. The sounds of the poem are only meaningful as a connection between the artist and the audience.

Does the artist make the meaning? Or does the meaning come from the audience? Or is meaning in art only found when communication between artist and audience has occurred?

I guess ring tones are more of a genre than a style. And it’s doubtful that cell phone composers will ever earn Grammy awards for their contribution to the world of music. Still, the potential is there to trigger audience response even with most economical of compositions.

W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter ter j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cr cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra cra ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck ck s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s:

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke

Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th Th his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his his I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy cy n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni ni t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t.

The poem reads…

Waterjar cracks:
I lie awake
This icy night.

(I found it here)

Posted by jwaggone at May 6, 2004 04:12 PM