Contributor for RE:VIRALS #71

Analysis of a haiku poem as part of the Haiku Foundation's re:Virals section:

Poem:

the b-flat 
fades from her piano . . .
 autumn wind

          — Maya Lyubenova, Under the Basho (2014)

Commentary: 

 Maybe a gust of wind caught the musician’s attention and the music faded
 as they switched their focus to the outside world, or maybe it was the 
last note, and as it fades they notice the sound of autumn wind — the 
two sounds blending to create a third “thing”, much in the same way 
haiku juxtapositions often work, or Brian Wilson orchestrations, where 
his unique blend created new “instruments”. The Greeks left behind 
interpretations of the way in which musical modes affected listeners, 
and many people nowadays would say that certain keys make them feel 
certain ways; the key of this piece, however, is not defined — we simply
 have one note in isolation, but that in itself can provoke a certain 
melancholy, and while it may seem like petty semantics, there is no 
doubt something subtly more sad about a flattened note than a sharpened 
one . . .

https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2017/01/20/revirals-71/