John Cage Music And Silence Analysis

Richard Taruskin’s essay helps expound on John Cage’s notion of autonomous art. He writes that, Cage brought about the true aesthetics of Western art in what he calls to ‘its purest peak.’ Taruskin also relates to Cage’s work as having a notion of ‘purposeful purposelessness.’ Cage’s work was in itself a form of autonomous art because of its hallowedness and special modes of performance, like the piece 4’33”. In addition, there is a middle man who interfaces the audience

Utilizing the groundwork proposed by this essay, we can expand to research other texts in which music seems to function as a form of communication. In doing so, we can study the similarities and differences between the mechanism as a way to arrive at a larger claim about the role of nonverbal communication amongst humans. With this new claim, we can begin to understand to recognize other forms of communication that may not appear as readily accessible and challenging, in order to ensure that we do not neglect the music of emotion another person may be performing in their own

At first glance, Wassily Kandinsky’s artwork may simply be perceived as undulating explosions of color and form; however, the whirlwind of unrecognizable shapes and lines fading into one another draw the viewer in. This mysterious familiarity is the foundation of Kandinsky’s art; each element in the composition contributes to a symphonic harmony that exists between each form, line, and plane of color. The recognition of this harmony helps one gain a better understanding of the hidden spiritual concepts that Kandinsky strove to liberate through the application of his avant-garde techniques. His use of abstraction allows the relationships between color, form, line, and composition to thrive; their independence from the confines of traditional

To best vicariously appreciate Mimmo Paladino’s evocative installation Dormienti (Sleepers), poke around the internet and find composer Brian Eno’s electronic score of the same title. At Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, this trance-inducing music plays on a loop in a large, dark gallery space, creating a moody and surreal soundscape for Paladino’s ambitious installation, in which 32 life-sized abstracted terracotta human forms rest in the fetal position. It’s as if their inert earthen bodies have yet to experience the spark of life. Although unmistakably contemporary, this collaborative work seems timeless and universal, as do many of Paladino’s other sculptures on view. Even Eno’s electronic music, for all its technological modernity, seems evocative of free-rhythm Gregorian chant.

For instance, Cage has claimed in a interview that he loves sounds just how they are and they do not to be anymore than they already (John Cage about Silence). In more simpler terms, he is asserting the fact that he believes planned out music with specific notes and certain melodies is no better than the sounds heard through daily life. Moreover, the significance one might find in 4'33" is the utter simplicity and beauty that can be found within the piece because of it's compelling and influential nature (Pritchett, 10). Another concept that made Cage's music one of the most misunderstood pieces ever written is how people now a days are often used to music being in an exact way. Music in today's society is at a certain pace of tempo, contain repetitive chants, and a specific rhythmic pattern. Yet, for many, Cage's 4'33" was a kind of artistic prayer in a serene, calm environment that opened the ears and allowed one to hear the world anew. Likewise, Cage used an act of framing, of enclosing environmental and unintended sounds in a moment of attention in order to open the mind to the fact that all sounds are music (Kyle Gann, 2). The essential reason behind this new approach to listening is to establish a new understanding of music itself by blurring the traditional boundaries between art and life. Overall, the context within Cage's composition is different to every person since each individual finds a distinct interpretation because sounds can not be replicated to be sounded the same in every

John Cage (1912-1992) was an American composer whose most famous work is actually not music at all. The piece is called, 4’33”, otherwise known as “The Silent Piece”, is just that, four minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Since I didn’t know what to expect, I thought the sound on my computer was broken!!! I waited and waited for him to begin, then, just like that, it was over. The significance of the piece is its simplicity. It is meant to teach us that there is no such thing as “true silence” (NPR). No matter how quiet you think it is, there is always a sound if you are still and listen carefully to what is actually going on around you. The piece was fist played in August 1952 in a tiny auditorium called Maverick Concert Hall in Hurley, New York and the musicians sat on stage for four minutes and 33 seconds.

With a vast exposure to music in our everyday lives, we must give thought as to what makes the sounds we hear so impressionable upon our very being in an order to understand music. Peter Kivy discusses two models in his book, “Music Alone; Philosophical Reflections on the Purely Musical Experience”, accounting for musical appreciation, namely, the stimulation model and the representational model of musical pleasure. Kivy compares these two models of conceptualization on many different accounts. We learn, through his defense, that he takes the stance as to say that music is purely a cognitive experience because of the syntactic structure that music is developed upon and our understanding of the structure’s function. He debunks the idea that a purely musical experience can be defined by the stimulation model because that would digress all music into a casual-mechanism of nerve arousal.

He began to beg the question of what silence truly is, and of what defines the world of music as a separate entity from everyday sounds. In his experimentation, Cage never truly found an answer, only more boundaries to be pushed and broken. Subjectively, John Cage’s most famous piece is 4’33”, performed by David Tudor. Hundreds gathered into a theatre on opening night waiting in anticipation. The piece began; Tudor bowed, sat down, closed the piano, and started a timer. After four minutes and thirty three seconds of pure silence, Tudor rose, bowed, and exited the stage. Some left in outrage, others claimed it was art, and many were left confused by the

John Cage’s outlook on silence is fascinating. He believes that there never is true silence. There is always a sound, even if it is your own blood rushing or your heart beating. The world is full of sounds. In Cage’s piece, 4’33”, he instructs the performers to perform the three movements of the piece without their instruments. Cage created this piece to show the individuals in the audience that there is not true thing as silence. Although many may believe that the action of the players maybe sitting on stage, not playing their instruments is silence. The music, in Cage’s opinion becomes the sounds of the chair squeaking, the programs rustling, the coughing and sneezing. There is never true silence.

Imagine incessant unmelodious screaming accompanied by a tiny orchestra that seems to be playing out of tune. The sounds emitted by the performers, are, in a word, hideous. One cannot possibly stand five whole minutes of hearing a half-screaming banshee belch out what seems to be random notes. This cacophony is exactly what most of the audience at Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire heard. Random, nonsensical clamor. In fact, the clamor is what most audiences heard at any number of performances of Schoenberg's work. Although Schoenberg’s musical compositions are excellent examples of contemporary art music within the music world, the audience thought differently, meeting the music with outcry and laughter, which ultimately led to Schoenberg’s exile from the world of music.

As one of the most radical composers in the 20th century, John Cage introduced new ideas of what music is. Breaking away from the traditional idea that music stems solely from the musician’s preconceived and structured arrangement of sounds from specific instruments, Cage’s philosophy of music is based on the idea that all sounds can work cooperatively to create music, including those from the environment. Strongly influenced by the principles in Zen Buddhism and Indian music, Cage began to explore new medians for music; He incorporated different elements by relying heavily on chance and randomness. Cage worked hard to create pieces that detached himself, as the composer, far away from the piece itself as possible- to allow the listener

Is silence really golden? Paul Simon, the writer of the song “The Sound of Silence”, demonstrates the issue of silence using many different techniques to relay his message. The message that the narrator of the song is trying to convey is that people are ignorant and oblivious to the silence and ultimately what is happening around them. The use of tone, personification, and rhyme allows this message of the song to be heard by the listener.

As a composer, he makes no effort to conform to the traditional standards of excellence that have been attached to music for its entire existence. In fact, using a classical frame of reference, the piece technically doesn’t even exist. For most of Modern Art, there is at least a mutual understanding that a given work lies within the confines of the medium, regardless of how much artistic controversy it packs. Essentially, a painting by Pablo Picasso, no matter how radical, is at least agreed by everyone (critic or proponent) to be, in its most basic form, a painting. However, with “3’44”, John Cage challenges the very idea that art needs to have some sort of tangible content. It presents the radical thought to the audience that a musical piece without any sound, which is viewed as the most fundamental element of music, can still be viewed as an artistic work with a substantial meaning. It pushes the listener past the point of comfort and familiarity in the most extreme sense, forcing him or her to reevaluate everything that is thought to be accepted about

In this article the author talks a lot about the soundscape of sound. The soundscape would include listen to instruction, the sound of a good hit, noise as a system of social organization, the role of music, hearing the audience, fight song, listen in a fight, and last would be hearing defeat or victory. Listen to

John Cage, an American composer, once stated “There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear.” In Cage’s musical career, he challenged the concept of sound by finding a compelling beauty in silence. His philosophy was that silence let people feel the sounds in the environment and that silence can give off a deep pleasure, which is shown in his piece “4’33”. However, silence isn’t viewed as a common conception of music, and at first I found Cage’s philosophy very abstract, but then realized its validity and how it can be a breakthrough in the American culture. Overall, silence is just like music, it can be very powerful since it is an extended form of communication, gives the ability