HoRn hAiKu
Sometimes I think we really need to get away from what we are doing and refresh perspective.
The beginning of a new year might be a great time to consider this...
I always have epiphanies while investigating other creative outlets (and at inopportune moments like in the shower or when I'm driving - but that's a WHOLE 'NOTHER post).
A few years back I came across Haiku...
I have always been very interested in creative writing. I submitted short stories in my youth and even won spots to attend writing conferences, though I never pursued it formally.
As a musician, it's no surprise, after all, writing is the expression of thought just as much as music is the expression of an idea. While I haven’t found great success in original musical composition other than a few pieces, the written word has always been easier for me.
Maybe a completely different medium can open up new paths in your brain and creativity this new year.
You don’t have to limit yourself only to your formal training. In fact, if 2020 has proven anything, you must not.
Personally, I really like the idea of having perimeters and a formula (maybe this would be parallel to serial music?). It seems a little safer and controlled to me. This really appeals to some type A personality qualities I have. And, well, we all have to start somewhere…
So, what is Haiku?
Haiku is a traditional Japanese art form of compressed and suggestive words to express.
The form is typically three lines, totaling seventeen syllables, organized as 5 – 7 – 5.
Composition of haiku is “through imagery, drawn from intensely careful observation, a web of associated ideas requiring an active mind on the part of the listener…traditionally and ideally, a haiku presents a pair of contrasting images, one suggestive of time and place, the other a vivid but fleeting observation. Working together, they evoke mood and emotion. The poet does not comment on the connection but leaves the synthesis of the two images for the reader to perceive” (source unknown).
WOW…doesn’t this sound an awful lot like music?
What if the same definition was printed with the inference towards music?
Composition of [music] is “through imagination, drawn from intensely careful observation, a web of associated ideas requiring an active mind on the part of the listener…traditionally and ideally, [music] presents contrasting [melodies], some suggestive of time and place, some perhaps a vivid but fleeting observation. Working together, they evoke mood and emotion. The [composer] does not comment on the connection but leaves the synthesis of the two ideas for the [listener] to perceive”
Interesting (and I love that).…but, back to Haiku.
Haiku poems are traditionally about nature and generally follow the principles of minimalism and immediacy (referring to the sense of a scene being directly presented to your senses). A haiku poem tries to capture a concrete image in place and time. (simplytom.com)
For me, I like to consider the nature of horn playing and how it relates to the body. It is a physical form of expression...so, what is the purpose of your body in music?
The doing.
Consider these questions:
· What do you do?
· What are you trying to accomplish?
· What is your purpose?
· What is your music’s purpose?
· What purpose does your body serve to the music?
· What are some ways that you can slow down?
We all certainly know how to speed up and create efficiency with our ideas (often to a fault).
Emailing, texting, social media, internet….all advanced communication that abbreviates and quickens.
Shortcuts.
Short cuts don't work to communicate in music (or to get better at things, which is also a WHOLE 'NOTHER post). I believe the meaning of music would be lost as well as the ability to be filled with patience.
Understanding meaning of anything requires patience.
It’s interesting that we, as a society, search purposefully for tools to slow us down. Can we not just decide to do it?
Hmmm… if I’m not in control of the speed at which I go through life, then who is?!
I must make time to allow my inner self to think on deeper meanings.
This comes down to, in large part, simple awareness.
Self-awareness.
Awareness of the SELF. Myself. MY self. All mine.
But, back to Haiku.
Here are some words that I associate together:
· Breathe: relax, muscle release, deep wind, air, fresh, clean, free, expanding
· Embouchure: free buzz, resonance, pure tone, strength, control, focus
· Tongue placement: color, shape, firm, smooth, clean, crisp, soft, gentle
· Tone production: sound, clarity, integrity, clean, precise, free, pure, bronze, color, warm, rich, chocolate, velvet, energy
When I read these lists of ideas, I feel emotions too. Each word gives me a particular association. I imagine anyone writing the words that, to them, associate with breathe, embouchure, tongue, tone, would have their own, perhaps, visceral reaction.
It would be really interesting to have a survey of word association to horn playing.
BUT, back to Haiku…
Some ideas for you to try:
· Use the imagination, draw upon your own experiences to relate.
· Experiment with one, two, three, four and even five lines all having fewer than seventeen syllables.
· Be as short and concise allowing the greatest amount of latitude in interpretation.
For horn haiku, I express thoughts of playing, performing, sharing in the most positive light possible. I want to diminish the negative, and instead, glorify the positive.
I end with a few that I have written that hold personal meaning for me:
-performing-
Deep slow breathing, not
Involuntary trembling
In dark silent halls
-conceptualizing good tone-
Cold hard metal sounds
Warm golden tones of wind
Before eager ears
-conceptualizing inner musical ideas-
Hear me now sounding
My horn calls out my beliefs
Quiet, powerful
-conceptualizing expansiveness in playing-
Deep open breathing
Releases rich golden tones
Across the mountains
Winds carry horn calls
Mountains sharing deep secrets
Leaves quiver and laugh
Walls always listen
Never confessing the path
Confining yet safe
Your creative possibilities are endless.
Fresh perspectives are endless.
The variety of new mediums is endless.
