Chou W. C.'s musical calligrapher vs western graphic notation

 Chinese calligraphy calls a double articulation in reference to pictorial art: the vocabulary correlates to the represented object, on the other. For instance, the character for the sun (日)is based on a sequence of brushstrokes that follow a systematic and combinatorial order, while it suggests an actual image of the sun. As a Chinese language user, the picture is inherent in our language which can transpose to composer's notation in Chou's music. Chou is also an accomplished calligrapher.

According to Everett (2007), the process of writing the word, the brushstroke in calligraphy, is affecting the look of the character even the same character. Chou treated calligraphic stroke as a type of articulation: with the same note, we can have different articulation to play it, same as brushstroke. The rhythm of music is the speed of a brushstroke. The structure of the character is the texture in music. It has great potential by reading the calligraphy as a score, which echoes the western graphic notation. Although Chou did not directly use calligraphy as a form of notation, the aesthetic of calligraphy really inspired him.



  Everett, Y. U. (2007) Calligraphy and musical gestures in the late works of Chou Wen-chung. Contemporary music review. [Online] 26 (5-6), 569–584.

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