From the Meaning of Words
to the Meaning of Sounds
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Notes toward a Process Theophonetics
with help from the Sound Poetry
of Tomomi Adachi and friends
also of interest
Sound Poem Performances |
Process Theophonetics
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More Notes toward a Process Theophonetics
"Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging literary and musical composition, in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded instead of more conventional semantic and syntactic values; "verse without words". By definition, sound poetry is intended primarily for performance."
The Meanings are in the Sounds: I take pleasure in hearing people speak languages I cannot understand for the same reason that I appreciate jazz. I like to hear sounds that are interesting and that surprise me. They open up spaces in my imagination and heart that cannot be opened if I understand the "meaning" of the words. Sometimes the semantic meanings get in the way.
This doesn't mean that the sounds don't have meanings in their own right. But these sonic meanings are different from discursive meanings. The sonic meanings are twofold. They are (1) the emotions that the sounds communicate and evoke, relative to context. The emotions may be pleasant, frightening, angry, anxious, wary, confused, and beautiful. The sonic meanings are (2) the possibilities that emerge in my imagination as I hear them, possibilities for being-in-the-world, and feeling its presence, from a first person perspective.
Sonic Meanings are Contextual: These meanings are not precisely determined by the sounds; they are indeterminate, which means that, in party, I must supply them. Thus the meanings of the sounds are dialogical or, perhaps better, diapoetic. Just as the meanings of words are not "in" the words in isolation from contexts, but rather in the words as shaped by context, so the meanings of sounds are not "in" the sounds in isolation, but in the context, including what the listener brings to it.
Sounds partakes of "Spiritual" Moods: Sound poetry is always a little playful, always a little funny, and usually a bit disturbing if you are overly attached to semantic and syntactical values. You need to like sound itself, and to enjoy the act of being surprised by sound, if you are to enjoy sound poetry. Thus sound poetry partakes of several moods or emotions in the spiritual alphabet: playfulness, listening, wonder, and a sense of mystery (indefinability). You are meant to smile just a bit as you hear them, and be a little uncomfortable.
Sounds are Possibilities within the Mind of God: Sound poetry is an evocation and invocation of what Whitehead calls "pure potentialities" for emotion. Whitehead believed that these potentialities precede their actualization; they are entertained or conceptually felt in the mind of God. Sound poetry explores the potentialities and gives voice to them. It brings phonetic possibilities down to earth in a playful way.
Electronic Enhancement of Sonic Exploration: Playing with sounds is one way that humans can explore the mind of God and electronic equipment can enhance the practice. The technological advances make possible spiritual advances.
The Aim: The aim of a process theophonetics is not to foster individual enjoyment alone, but also to help widen the heart and ear so that we can live in creative and gentle ways with others, helping build communities that are creative, compassionate, egalitarian, respectful of diversity, and sonically alive, with no one left behind.
The Meanings are in the Sounds: I take pleasure in hearing people speak languages I cannot understand for the same reason that I appreciate jazz. I like to hear sounds that are interesting and that surprise me. They open up spaces in my imagination and heart that cannot be opened if I understand the "meaning" of the words. Sometimes the semantic meanings get in the way.
This doesn't mean that the sounds don't have meanings in their own right. But these sonic meanings are different from discursive meanings. The sonic meanings are twofold. They are (1) the emotions that the sounds communicate and evoke, relative to context. The emotions may be pleasant, frightening, angry, anxious, wary, confused, and beautiful. The sonic meanings are (2) the possibilities that emerge in my imagination as I hear them, possibilities for being-in-the-world, and feeling its presence, from a first person perspective.
Sonic Meanings are Contextual: These meanings are not precisely determined by the sounds; they are indeterminate, which means that, in party, I must supply them. Thus the meanings of the sounds are dialogical or, perhaps better, diapoetic. Just as the meanings of words are not "in" the words in isolation from contexts, but rather in the words as shaped by context, so the meanings of sounds are not "in" the sounds in isolation, but in the context, including what the listener brings to it.
Sounds partakes of "Spiritual" Moods: Sound poetry is always a little playful, always a little funny, and usually a bit disturbing if you are overly attached to semantic and syntactical values. You need to like sound itself, and to enjoy the act of being surprised by sound, if you are to enjoy sound poetry. Thus sound poetry partakes of several moods or emotions in the spiritual alphabet: playfulness, listening, wonder, and a sense of mystery (indefinability). You are meant to smile just a bit as you hear them, and be a little uncomfortable.
Sounds are Possibilities within the Mind of God: Sound poetry is an evocation and invocation of what Whitehead calls "pure potentialities" for emotion. Whitehead believed that these potentialities precede their actualization; they are entertained or conceptually felt in the mind of God. Sound poetry explores the potentialities and gives voice to them. It brings phonetic possibilities down to earth in a playful way.
Electronic Enhancement of Sonic Exploration: Playing with sounds is one way that humans can explore the mind of God and electronic equipment can enhance the practice. The technological advances make possible spiritual advances.
The Aim: The aim of a process theophonetics is not to foster individual enjoyment alone, but also to help widen the heart and ear so that we can live in creative and gentle ways with others, helping build communities that are creative, compassionate, egalitarian, respectful of diversity, and sonically alive, with no one left behind.
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Get ready for a unique, extraordinary experience, as Japanese composer and sound-poet Tomomi Adachi's performs with his special invention - an infrared sensor shirt, which creates sounds according to what Adachi says and how he moves. Tomomi Adachi (b.1972) is a Japanese vocal and electronics performer, composer, sound poet, installation artist, instrument builder and occasional theater director, who makes improvised music with voice, computer and home-made instruments. Adachi studied philosophy and aesthetics at Waseda University in Tokyo. He has composed works for his own group "Adachi Tomomi Royal Chorus" which is a punk-style choir and he has performed contemporary music, including the world premiere of John Cage’s “Variations VII,” “Europera 5,” and “Waterwalk”. He is the only performer of sound poetry in Japan and has performed Kurt Schwitters' "Ursonate" for the first time in Japan. Tomomi Adachi performs at the Weiwei stage at the Louisiana Literature festival at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, August 2013.