Onomatopoeia

Ever heard a comic book performed?

A Graphic Novel interpreted by creative musicians?

Composed by Gary Wildeman, Onomatopoeia is a 48-page comic book musical score that provides listeners with a direct way to relate to improvised music. The comic features onomatopoeic syllables to express the adventures of two iconic characters. The Onomatopoeia release contains the comic book, CD live recording and a digital download with audio and pdf. In concert, audiences are given a score (and a flashlight), or listeners can follow along at home.

Onomatopoeia is not only presented in performance, but is also used in NOW workshops. Participants with any amount of experience quickly pick up how this graphic score can inspire improvisation as they learn to interpret with delight, courage, and abandon. The creative practices introduced in these workshops allow improvisers to explore the interpretation of imagery in terms of form and connection with abstract sound, not just through playing the score, but also through creating their own score that is then played by the musicians leading the workshops.

http://www.nowsociety.org/onomatopoeia-workshops

These workshops have been presented in Squamish, BC at the Howe Sound Secondary School, the Vancouver Art Gallery Family Fuse, in the East Vancouver schools, at the Boston School of music and in the Sonic Playground Festival at the Roundhouse.