Haiku Music Challenge

Mountain-rose petals
Falling, falling, falling now…
Waterfall music

(Matsuo Bashō)

The Naviar haiku music challenge invites artists to make music in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem. Participation is free and there are no limitations in the songs’ length or genre. You can support the project by buying Naviar's music on Bandcamp.

Haiku is a traditional and short form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines: it’s about moments of objective experience which lead to deeper considerations about life and nature.

The juxtaposition of two images or ideas and the consequent creation of a gap in the imagery gives the reader (or, in this case, the musician) the chance to complete the poem with his/her own interpretation.

This project is about expanding the meaning of a poem beyond its words, and the active role of the reader in haiku poetry, unique in the literary realm, is what inspired this project.

haiku poem with blue night woods background

How to Participate

1. Find the most recent haiku music challenge post from the collection of haiku posts below.

2. Make music in response to the assigned haiku.

3. When choosing a title for your piece also include the assignment number, for example “Title of Your Track (naviarhaiku110)”

How to Submit your Track

If you’re a Soundcloud user, upload it on Soundcloud and send me the URL via private message, or tag me in the track.

If you upload your music on Youtube, Bandcamp or anywhere else, upload your submission and then send me the link by email at marco@naviarrecords.com or contact me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

If you don’t use any music platform, upload it to this Dropbox folder and I’ll include it in the weekly playlist. If you choose this option, make sure you include your name in the track’s title.

If you want to be featured in our weekly radio show Naviar Broadcast and monthly compilations, please set the track as downloadable and allow others to remix it by using a Creative Commons License.

Haiku Music Challenge Posts

To participate in the challenge, find the most recent haiku music challenge post from the collection below and make music in response to the assigned haiku.