Michigan Radio and PLAY have launched the Sonic Haiku Project and we need your help. We’re looking for mini-audio-shorts with a vivid sense of place - specifically, a Michigan place.
Think evocative… transporting, familiar, quirky or all of the above.
Think short…. Like haiku, these are short but full: a moment, carefully observed. Sonic Haiku on the radio are 30 seconds in length, total. (Your contribution will be 20 seconds max.)
Think Michigan…. We’re looking for Sonic Haiku that create a vivid sense of place somewhere in the state (it’s Michigan Radio, after all). A Sonic Haiku can feature narration, interview or simply the sound of the place itself.
Visit the main Sonic Haiku page to listen to examples (which include the closing tag that will accompany each Sonic Haiku.) These examples take different approaches, but they’re all inspired in some way by this question: “When you think of a memorable sound somewhere in Michigan, what do you think of?”
Length: Your haiku needs to be 20 seconds maximum, although the actual audio you deliver may contain up to 10 seconds of trail at the end so that we can mix the outro elements smoothly.
Be prepared to revise. These 20 seconds of audio need to be vivid and utterly precise while maintaining a sense of shape. It’s surprisingly challenging! We can help if you’d like feedback.
Source of Sounds: Your piece should be inspired by the sounds of Michigan. We’re interested in real experiences and real sounds so your piece should include original source recordings, either through an interview or a field recording.
Looking for ideas? We are especially interested in sounds and memories having to do with the seasons, iconic Michigan locations, Michigan industries and sounds from the western and northern parts of the state.
- Submit your Sonic Haiku as an mp3 to this e-mail: playgallery@umich.edu. Include the title of the Haiku and a one sentence description of the piece. Also include your daytime phone number in case we need to contact you.
- If the piece is chosen for broadcast, we will contact you. The piece will be packaged and then broadcast on Michigan Radio intermittently throughout the year.
This is a rolling call.
Well, at this point we can’t offer compensation other than this: the chance to play in the audio sandbox with other radio/audiophiles, plus, the chance to hear your piece on one of the best NPR stations in the country! Your haiku will also appear online, along with credits, at playgallery.org.
We take playful inspiration from two great audio projects: the Sonic ID project at WCAI as well as the Third Coast Festival Short Docs competition.
