“In C” is a work of Western contemporary music, but it shares key qualities with Buddhist chanting and shōmyō:

 “In C” is a work of Western contemporary music, but it shares key qualities with Buddhist chanting and shōmyō: a layered overtone resonance and a ritual sense of time. The continuous high C pulse and sustained tones create a drone, similar to how steady pitch in sutra chanting turns the entire room into a resonating chamber. Multiple players repeat the same patterns with slight timing differences, producing interference “beating” — a thick, swelling vibration you feel in the body, much like group chanting. The piece is designed not to tell a dramatic story or drive toward a destination, but to sink the listener into the present moment. Its rhythm is collectively breathed rather than mechanically enforced. As a result, “In C” can feel less like a concert and more like shared invocation.