John Cage – Unsilence

Page 1

UNSILENCE



There is no such thing as

SILENCE






UNSILENCE


CE EN SIL

SOUND

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TH EA NA RC HY OF SIL EN CE


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SILENCE



SILENCE Pronunciation: sailens noun Complete absence of sound – Sirens pierce the silence of the night an eerie silence descended over the house. The fact or state of abstaining from speech – Karen had withdrawn into sullen silence she was reduced to silence for a moment. The avoidance of mentioning or discussing something – Politicians keep their silence on the big questions. The state of standing still and not speaking as a sign of respect for someone deceased or in an opportunity for prayer – A moment of silence presided over by a local minister.

definition oxford english dictionary


J O H N

Silence became the central to Cage’s work, the thing with which he was most often connected. Silence however, is never created – it is always (t)here before one can produce anything on top of it. Silence is the greatest mystery of all.

C A G E


What if I ask you some

QUESTIONS


Is silence athematic?

Is there such a thing as silence?

Even if I get away from people, do I still have to listen to something?

If I can see it do I have to hear it too?

Is there always something to hear?

Never any peace an quiet?

If I don’t hear it does it still communicate?


will that make things clear?


SILENCE IS THE

COMPLETE

ABSENCE

OF SOUND Is that even possible?

definition oxford english dictionary


But first – what is a sound



SOUND



definition oxford english dictionary

SOUND Pronunciation: sound noun The sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium – Mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, traveling in air at a speed of approximately 1087 feet (331 meters) per second at sea level – The particular auditory effect produced by a given cause – The sound of music. Any auditory effect; any audible vibrational disturbance – All kinds of sounds. A noise, vocal utterance, musical tone, or the like – The sounds from the next room.


sound

Synonyms – SOUND, NOISE, TONE Sound, noise, tone refer to something heard. Sound and noise – Sound and noise are often used interchangeably for anything perceived by means of hearing. Sound – Sound, however, is more general in application, being used for anything within earshot: the sound of running water. Noise – Noise, caused by irregular vibrations, is more properly applied to a loud, discordant, or unpleasant sound: the noise of shouting. Tone – Tone is applied to a musical sound having a certain quality, resonance, and pitch.

definition oxford english dictionary

=


= NOISE is not intellectualised – the ear can hear them directly and don’t have to go through any abstraction about them The Characteristics


Thi s all a is per spe se j cts cha ust a s ract oun eris d, i ing ncl a so udin und g .

SOUND accomplishes nothing

The Characteristics


FREQUENCY OR PITCH

DURATION AMPLITUDE OR LOUDNESS

MORPHOLOGY TIMPBRE


SOUND COMES INTO ITS OWN What does that mean?

For anything. it means that noises are as beautiful (‌) as so-called musical tones, for the simple reason that they are sounds. Regarding sounds, the highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. Each sound is unique and not the same twice. They are a signature of our environment and tell the story of what is happening around us.


A sound does not view itself as though, as ought, as needing another sound for its elucidation; it has no time for any consideration – it is occupied with the performance of its characteristics: before it has died away it must have mead perfectly exact its frequency, its loudness, its length, its overtone structure, the precise morphology of these and of itself.


what will happen if sounds being beautiful stop sometime and the only sounds to hear are not beautiful to hear but are ugly,– what will happen to us? Have we got truth?

Would I continue asking questions if questions were not words but were sounds? If words are sounds, are they musical or are they noises? If sounds are noises but not words, are they meaningful? Are they musical? Say, there are two sounds and two people and one of each is beautiful, is there between all four any communication? And if there are rules, who made them, I ask you? Does it begin somewhere, I mean, and if so, where does it stop? Would we ever be able to get so that we thought the ugly sounds were beautiful? If we drop beauty, what have we got? I ask you, sometime, too, sounds happening in time, what will happen to our experience of hearing, yours, mine, our ears, hearing,–


How? Is a sound a blessing?

If I have two sounds are they related? Is someone is nearer one of them than he is to the second, is he more related to the first one? What about sounds that are too far away for us to hear them? Sounds are just vibrations, isn’t that true? Can we separate sound from life? Do you know how to get rid of all sounds?

May I ask eight more questions?

Have we got religion? Do we have a mythology? Do you mean to say it’s a purposeless play? Is that what it is when you get up and hear the first sound of each day? Is it possible that I could go on monotonously asking questions forever? Do I have to know when to stop? Does it help asking questions at all?


Would I continue asking questions if questions were not words but were sounds? If words are sounds, are they musical or are they noises? If sounds are noises but not words, are they meaningful? Are they musical? Say, there are two sounds and two people and one of each is beautiful, is there between all four any communication? And if there are rules, who made them, I ask you? Does it begin somewhere, I mean, and if so, where does it stop? Would we ever be able to get so that we thought the ugly sounds were beautiful? If we drop beauty, what have we got? I ask youn time, what will happen to our experience of hearing, yours, mine, our ears, hearing,– what wilop sometimeand the only sounds to hear are not beautiful to hear but are ugly,– what will happen to us? sdsafdqafqewxwdkcjvkycjvkcvjkdvjkdvjkdjvkcjvkcxvjave we got truth? Hvgdfgdfgfdgdgfdgdfgdfgdfgave we got religion? Do we have a mythology? ean to say i and hear the first sound of each day? Istions foreve rgdfgd? Where ever Do I we are, whatI we mostly noise. May askhear threeismore question When we Ifignore disturbs us. I haveit, twoitsou Whenabout we listen to th it, a What sounds we find itare fascinating. Sounds just vibrat alwayssound are sounds CanThere we separate from life? be heard Do youtoknow how toan getallridofofthem all sounds? are excellent. How? Is a sound a blessing?

NOISE

IS


Someone may object that the sounds that happened were not interesting. Let him. Next time he hears the piece, it will be different, perhaps less interesting, perhaps suddenly exciting. And life the same: Always different, sometimes exciting, sometimes boring, sometimes gently pleasing. The disharmony of everyday sounds is simply a harmony to which many are unaccustomed.

PURE SOUND


or

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We want to

C APTURE AND O N T R O L

S O U N D

SOUNDS


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I would like to think that the sounds people do hear in a concert make them more aware of the sounds they hear in the street or out in the country, or anywhere they may be




SPA CE D N U

TO

O S L TA



There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see and something to hear.


Is it low?

1

WHAT 8

Is it in the middle?

2

Is it soft?

3

Are there two?

5

Is it a doorbell?

7

Why isn’t it?

Is it music? Is it softer than before? Is it supersonic?

10

11

IF I ASK Is it time?

16

Is it high?

28

Is it in the middle?

30 32

35 36

37

18

Is sound enough?

26

Is it low? 31

Is it an interval?

Ten thousand?

How many sounds can you hear at the same time? 43

48

29

What is an interval?

One million?

41

13

Is the word music music?

25

48

22

12

Is it very short?

17

Is it coming closer?

21

Is it a noise?

Do you disagree?

Sounds are just vibrations, isn’t that true?

44 47

Eighty?


Is it loud? 6

Or even more than two? Was it an air plane?

9

15

4

14

What’s coming?

When will it stop?

Very long?

23 24

Far away?

19

Just medium?

20

Is it a sound? Then again, is it music?

Does it communicate anything?

Must it?

27

QUESTIONS How many sounds are there all together?

33

38

Will this never stop? 39 Why won’t it? 40

42 45

Should it?

Are we hearing all the same?

Will you change your mind? Is it high? Is it in between?

46

Is it low?


Are we getting anywhere asking questions?

MAY I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION?

Am I now wiser than before?


DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?


We life in a total sound space.

The exposition of a particular sound in this space in this total sound space Any sound at any point

By the alteration of any one of these determinants,

it changes.

Like life –

is changing.

and each experience

Each experience is different

the position of the sound in sound space changes.

Any sound at any point at any point in this total sound space


being the result of five determinants: Frequency or pitch

Amplitude or loudness can move Overtone structure or timbre

Duration

and Morphology

Each moment

to become a sound at another point.

presents what happens in our environment. can move to become a sound at any the point.


Try to make silence


we cannot

There will always be sounds



JOHN CAGE


John Milton Cage Jr.

born 5. September 1912, in Los Angeles


RADICAL COMPOSER

MUSIC THEORIST

The most influential and controversial American experimental composer of the 20th century, john cage was the father of indeterminism, a Zen-inspired aesthetic which expelled all notions of choice from the creative process. Rejecting the most deeply held compositional principles of the past – logical consequence, vertical sensitivity, and tonality among them – Cage created a ground breaking alternative to the serialist method, de constructing traditions established hundreds and even thousands of years earlier; the end result was a radical new artistic approach which impacted all of the music composed in its wake, forever altering not only the ways in which sounds are created but also how they’re absorbed by audiences. Indeed, it’s often been suggested that he did to music what Karl Marx did to government –he levelled it.

ARTIST AND WRITER

PIONEER

OF THE 20TH CENTURY

AVANT-GARDE CULTURE

died 12. August 1992, in New York

PHILOSOPHER


lent. l e c x , e r not them are o m e ke th nd all of a m I a ther e heard e h W s to b d soun s y a re alw a e r the

J O H N

C A G E


WN

T

S BE

K R O

W

O N K

Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano, 1946–48

Imaginary Landscape No. 4, 1951

4’33’’ (Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds, 1952

Fontana Mix, 1958

Cheap Imitation, 1969



THE ANTI

THESIS


MAY I ASK AGAIN –

WHAT IS SILENCE



Nonexistent opposite


Think for a moment about sound, how it has pitch, loudness, timbre and duration and how silence which is its nonexistent opposite has only duration.

SOUND


Silence has only duration.



S O U N D ANTITHESIS


S I L E N C E


S O U N D ANTITHESIS


S I L E N C E


1971

J O H N

C A G E


„By silence i mean the multiplicity of activity that constantly surrounds us. We call it silence because it is free of our activity. It does not correspond to ideas of order or expressive feeling – they lead to order and expression, but when they do, it deafens us to the sounds themselves. „

SILENCE


THERE IS NO


There is no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes sound. No one can have an idea once he starts really listening. It is very simple but extra urgent.

SILENCE


S ILENCE O U N D

Is all of the sound we do not intend.


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Effortless succession of sound arising, existing for a time and then passing away.


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and lets it act of its own accord.



S I L E THE ANARCHY OF

N

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I had thought of leaving this last section


SILENT


IF YOU LET IT, THIS MOMENT


IT SUPPORTS ITSELF THIS MOMENT


ALL YOU CAN DO –

IS SUDDENLY

LISTEN



Nadine Resch – Graphic Arts – 2012


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