Music, Poetry and Storytelling.
- Maria Gakenye
- Sep 3, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: May 18, 2025
The last post I wrote was a poem, themed as a parabolic protest. Do you consider music to be a part of poetry? Or vice versa even? I think let's start here.
I suppose if you look at music in the form of song, then in one way or another music and poetry can be one and the same. The way you put together musical notes, with precision and intention applies to words in poetry.
The sequencing of musical notes and melodies is the root of harmony, just like the rhythm of words and phrases is the foundation of poetry. And just like putting together melodies and harmonies is the foundation of a song, so is the blending of words and poetry the foundation of a story.
A good or even what many would term a great song and even an amazing story both have one thing in common. They are memorable. I'd be walking down the road, when the song "Silly Bird " by Nina Ogot pops into my mind, for example. And I would walk to the rhythm of the song until my destination. There must be something about such a song that would make it so easy to remember. The major melodies simply float over the rhythm and beautiful, simple and repetitive harmonic movements.
I would also find myself thinking about the words and the story that unfolds. Nina Ogot, the "Silly Bird" by my interpretation talks about her simple perceptions of life and how they make her uniquely different. She sings of how freed and happy she is by the mental paradise of her life that is musical and drama-free. The flow of words in the poem that build up the musical story is simply beautiful. The call and response in the chorus also makes for a memorable thing. The repetitive rhythms and musical patterns in both words and music tie the musical story together. I suppose I am trying to say that just as essential as a good story is to a song, a great music-like(musical) flow is important to words of poetry and in stories.
I used the poem "Institutional Intuitions?" As a musical poem. It may not be a song, but the rhythm of the words and the flow of the poem are the foundations of the story. The story flows with rhythm in words and phrases just like a song. It is also a musical story in the sense that it's a story about musicians in the world of a musical institution(lol 😝coincidànce?). What makes for a good story could sometimes be in the way you phrase it. A horrific story can be expressed through humour and still leave a sting. Similarly, a humorous story could leave you deep in thought and sometimes even in dismay.
"Institutional Intuitions?" is a poetic story I wrote as an impression of the feelings evoked from the ongoing issues at my alma mater. Students faced the imposition of a rule by the-then music student council with the institution's support. Students of the Jazz department responded to this new policy by protesting in the form of written emails. The students successfully swayed the student council to reconvene and recreate a more inclusive policy through their efforts to stand together and speak up for their needs. I wrote an illustrative poem expressing the sense of emptiness that can exist in a place filled with opportunity and resources. While boldly expressing that "dreams are made real here", the institutional intuition resolves to gatekeep against the many for the benefit of the few, enabling the global trend of capitalism. A subtle reminder that "at the end of the day, we care more about the money"—a disturbing yet realistic paradox.
The musical story wound up in strings of musical poetry.....
If you haven't checked out the second blog, the link is here:
And please do check out "Silly Bird" by Nina Ogot🎵 which i have linked below!
Sincerely,
The Afreecan.
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