Power of the Void

ISKL Mission Statement

The International School of Kuala Lumpur (silence) provides an exceptional education (silence) that challenges each student to develop the attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding to become (silence) a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.

I inserted a ‘silence’ part in a few areas of the school’s mission statement. The purpose of the silence was to create void and tension for the listener. I think that my void using ‘silence’ works because it is put in places where it is explaining deeper into statement’s idea. For example, the placing of ‘silence’ in this text, ”to become (silence) a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.” creates void because the silence before revealing the school’s ultimate goal helps the reader stay engaged with the statement. This also creates tension to the reader because it makes them to wonder/ask on what will happen next, or in this case, what is the school’s mission statement ultimately lead to.

Composers create tension throughout the piece in a question and answer format. One way they can use the question part is silence/pause and the release is done by going back to the piece’s normal state. Many composers tend to silence/pause during the music since it makes the listener wait for the important part and it surprises them. This creates void as it hangs the audience and makes them ask questions.