On the Nature of Sound Creation

An inspiration for this Sunday on the nature of sound creation:

In Confronting Silence (1), a collection of writings by the Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu, he reflects on how the Western rationalism that shapes the model of musical composition stands in stark opposition to the approach that permeates Japanese music and aesthetics. This contrast can be illustrated through the Japanese concept of Ma.

Ma is inherently untranslatable into English, but it can be described as a transitional space, a portal that allows Kami (spirits) to fill the void with Ki (energy). When this occurs, there is a ‘collapse of space-time into the immediate present, leading to the dissolution of rational narratives that attempt to impose meaning and establish an active relationship between the subject and the object’ (2).

It is within this precise liminal space that the composer of sounds resides, more as an observer marvelling at the nature of sound than as a mind trying to shape it.

Under this light, his words shine even brighter:

𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. (…) 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. (1)

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(1) Takemitsu, Tōru. Confronting Silence: Selected Writings. Berkeley: Fallen Leaf Press, 1995.

(2) Escort, Greta. “Arriving On The Same Page: Tōru Takemitsu, John Cage, and the Concept of Ma”, Rikyu Grey, 2013.