On Beauty in Tibetan Music
In its own strange language, Tibet’s music, its notation, form, and sound are all suffused with a mysterious beauty...
In its infinite power, musical language may find its ultimate expression in devotional music. And while every musical tradition around the world seems to implicitly suggest this, the culture of Tibet —and its unique aesthetic— presents a noteworthy example.
Every religion bears the colors and forms of the culture from which it emerged. When Buddhism arrived in Tibet in the 7th century, it merged with existing regional traditions and its musical works were permeated by this syncretism. Within the religious sphere, music serves as a record surviving generation of devotees, as a way of knowing and memorizing sacred scriptures, and as a method for scaring off harmful spirits or even invoking deities. In Tibet, music derived into a complex (and beautiful) system of writing music, an essential ingredient of Buddhism and its spiritual expressions, —in which the aesthetic experience happening outside of a person is also of considerable value. Within the Buddhist world, sound often bears a sacred quality and an evident capacity for the elevation of human consciousness.
The notation of Tibetan music depicts —by means of symbols— melodies, rhythms, patterns, and musical arrangements. One of the best known and most extensive traditions of ritual singing is known as Yang Yig and emerged in the 6th century, prior to Buddhism in Tibet. The writing doesn’t indicate rhythmic patterns, nor the durations of the notes. But along with songs, visualizations, and some facial gestures, the musical notation also transcribes the main guide for many rituals. Such rituals often integrate dance, traditional instruments, and polyphonic chants.
In written Tibetan music, curves indicate the smooth effects of rises and falls in intonation. This notation also indicates, frequently, the metaphorical spirit of that which should be sung. For example, “flowing like a river,” and “light as the song of a bird.” One can also find detailed indications of the modifications to be made to the voice when certain vowels are pronounced. Specific notations are used for vocals, and others for instruments like drums, trumpets, horns, and cymbals.
Music is powerful because it communicates the essential, timeless, and inexpressible parts of what makes us human. Tibetan music invokes, in its deep ritual inclinations, a sensory immersion in the transcendental, and a rethinking of melody, rhythm, and song.
Related Articles
When ancient rituals became religion
The emergence of religions irreversibly changed the history of humanity. It’s therefore essential to ask when and how did ancient peoples’ rituals become organized systems of thought, each with their
Seven ancient maps of the Americas
A map is not the territory. —Alfred Korzybski Maps are never merely maps. They’re human projections, metaphors in which we find both the geographical and the imaginary. The cases of ghost islands
An artist crochets a perfect skeleton and internal organs
Shanell Papp is a skilled textile and crochet artist. She spent four long months crocheting a life-size skeleton in wool. She then filled it in with the organs of the human body in an act as patient
A musical tribute to maps
A sequence of sounds, rhythms, melodies and silences: music is a most primitive art, the most essential, and the most powerful of all languages. Its capacity is not limited to the (hardly trivial)
The enchantment of 17th-century optics
The sense of sight is perhaps one the imagination’s most prolific masters. That is why humankind has been fascinated and bewitched by optics and their possibilities for centuries. Like the heart, the
Would you found your own micro-nation? These eccentric examples show how easy it can be
Founding a country is, in some ways, a simple task. It is enough to manifest its existence and the motives for creating a new political entity. At least that is what has been demonstrated by the
Wondrous crossings: the galaxy caves of New Zealand
Often, the most extraordinary phenomena are “jealous of themselves” ––and they happen where the human eye cannot enjoy them. However, they can be discovered, and when we do find them we experience a
Think you have strange reading habits? Wait until you've seen how Mcluhan reads
We often forget or neglect to think about the infinite circumstances that are condensed in the acts that we consider habitual. Using a fork to eat, for example, or walking down the street and being
The sky is calling us, a love letter to the cosmos (video)
We once dreamt of open sails and Open seas We once dreamt of new frontiers and New lands Are we still a brave people? We must not forget that the very stars we see nowadays are the same stars and
The sister you always wanted (but made into a crystal chandelier)
Lucas Maassen always wanted to have a sister. And after 36 years he finally procured one, except, as strange as it may sound, in the shape of a chandelier. Maassen, a Dutch designer, asked the