{"id":715,"date":"2013-01-09T20:44:47","date_gmt":"2013-01-10T01:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/?page_id=715"},"modified":"2013-09-02T07:54:37","modified_gmt":"2013-09-02T12:54:37","slug":"five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/","title":{"rendered":"Five statements on silence by John Cage: Questions, hypotheses, second thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Silent prayer<\/h1>\n
\n

[I intend] to compose a piece of uninterrupted silence and sell it to Muzak Co. \u00a0It will be 3 or 4\u00bd minutes long\u2014those being the standard lengths of \u201ccanned\u201d music\u2014and its title will be Silent Prayer<\/em>. \u00a0It will open with a single idea which I will attempt to make as seductive as the color and shape and fragrance of a flower. \u00a0The ending will approach imperceptibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cA composer\u2019s confessions\u201d, lecture delivered at Vassar College (February 1948)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Question:<\/strong> \u00a0What kind of silent piece did Cage have in mind in 1948?<\/p>\n

Hypothesis:<\/strong> \u00a0I take Cage literally here: \u00a0I think that his Silent prayer<\/em> was meant to have two sounds in it. \u00a0It would be in keeping with his style of the 1940s to have a piece that opened with a sound, had an extended silence, and then closed with another sound. \u00a0How else would you know that the silence was happening, that it was music? \u00a0It would also make sense that Cage would want this \u201csingle idea\u201d at the opening to be \u201cseductive\u201d, to make people look up at the loudspeaker in the ceiling of the elevator. \u00a0Or perhaps they didn\u2019t quite hear that opening gesture, but the sudden absence of Muzak draws their attention. \u00a0Either way, they listen, barely hearing the closing sound: \u00a0so gentle, almost imperceptible. \u00a0The elevator opens, the Muzak resumes, the passengers move on.<\/p>\n

Second thoughts:<\/strong> \u00a0Why didn\u2019t Cage actually write this piece? \u00a0It would not have been that difficult to put together, although capturing the musical essence of a flower would be a challenge. \u00a0Was it fear? \u00a0Or was the idea for this piece completely wedded to the idea of selling it to Muzak and hence unattainable? \u00a0Perhaps he saw it as a piece that was not to be played in a concert hall, but to be sprung upon a music-saturated society in public spaces, in elevators, stores, dentists\u2019 offices.<\/p>\n

2. The String Quartet in Four Parts<\/h1>\n
\n

You will be happy to know, as I am, that I\u2019ve finished the first movement of the String Quartet. \u2026 Without actually using silence, I should like to praise it. \u00a0This piece is like the opening of another door; the possibilities implied are unlimited \u2026<\/p>\n

Letter to his parents, Paris, August 1949<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Question:<\/strong> \u00a0What did Cage mean by \u201cpraising silence?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hypothesis:<\/strong> \u00a0He was not referring to physical, acoustic silence, but rather to a spiritual silence. his description of the quartet was quite accurate: \u00a0it contains almost no silences at all. At the time, Cage was in the middle of a spiritual journey, one in which he was turning inwards, away from the world. \u00a0In the summer of 1949, he had just written the essay \u201cForerunners of modern music\u201d for the small journal The tiger\u2019s eye<\/em>. \u00a0This was an explicit presentation of his spiritual position, and in it he quoted extensively from the medieval Christian mystic Meister Eckhart. \u00a0\u201cWe are made perfect by what happens to us rather than by what we do,\u201d Eckhart said, referring to an \u201cignorance\u201d that is \u201cennobled and adorned with supernatural knowledge.\u201d \u00a0Eckhart praised this ignorance, the \u201cdivine unconsciousness\u201d; Cage praised it as \u201csilence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second thoughts:<\/strong> \u00a0Or did he mean his new, systematic, disciplined approach to musical materials\u2014the gamut\u2014that he invented in the string quartet? \u00a0Wasn\u2019t that a kind of silence, too?
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

3. The anechoic chamber<\/h1>\n
\n

For, when, after convincing oneself ignorantly that sound has, as its clearly defined opposite, silence, that since duration is the only characteristic of sound that is measurable in terms of silence, therefore any valid structure involving sounds and silences should be based, not as occidentally traditional, on frequency, but rightly on duration, one enters an anechoic chamber, as silent as technologically possible in 1951, to discover that one hears two sounds of one\u2019s own unintentional making (nerve\u2019s systematic operation, blood\u2019s circulation), the situation one is clearly in is not objective (sound-silence) but rather subjective (sounds only), those intended and those others (so-called silence) not intended.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperimental music: \u00a0doctrine\u201d, essay in The score<\/em> (June 1955)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Question: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Did Cage\u2019s experience in the anechoic chamber lead him to use chance in his music?<\/p>\n

Answer: <\/strong><\/strong>No.<\/p>\n

Question: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Did Cage\u2019s experience in the anechoic chamber lead him to 4′ 33″<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Hypothesis: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>4′ 33″<\/em> was not a direct result of Cage\u2019s experience of silence in the anechoic chamber. \u00a0The idea of a silent piece had occurred to him as early as 1948. \u00a0The idea that silence consists of all unintended sounds gave extra significance to the silent piece, but was not necessarily either the ultimate or proximate cause of it. \u00a0The path that leads one to an action may be quite different from the ultimate significance of that action in one\u2019s life. \u00a0The ultimate significance of using duration as a basis for structure was, as Cage said repeatedly, its unique ability to embrace both sound and silence. \u00a0But this was not why he created duration structures: \u00a0his work with modern dance was what took him there. \u00a0Similarly, the significance of the silent piece and of chance was ultimately identical with the realization of the anechoic chamber: \u00a0silence is simply unintended sound. \u00a0But the path that resulted in 4′ 33″<\/em> was shaped by other experiences, other conditions.<\/p>\n

Second thoughts: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>The timing seems right, though, with 4′ 33″<\/em> coming so soon afterwards. \u00a0But if the anechoic chamber experience was so important to him, why didn\u2019t he mention it in any writings or lectures until 1954? \u00a0Did its significance creep up on him slowly? \u00a0Or did it wait for some other catalyst to bring it all together? \u00a0Possibly the silent piece? \u00a0Come to think of it, why didn\u2019t he mention 4′ 33″<\/em> \u00a0back then, either?
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

4. 4′ 33″<\/em><\/h1>\n
\n

\u2026 in the case of 4′ 33″<\/em> I actually used the same method of working [as Music of changes], and I built up the silence of each movement, and the three movements add up to 4′ 33″<\/em>. \u00a0I built each movement up by means of short silences put together. It seems idiotic, but that\u2019s what I did. I didn\u2019t have to bother with the pitch tables or the amplitude tables, all I had to do was work with the durations. \u2026 It took several days to write and it took me several years to come to the decision to make it.<\/p>\n

Answer to a question about 4′ 33″<\/em> \u00a0at the Norton Lectures at Harvard University (1988)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Question: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>What was the method used to compose 4′ 33″<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Hypothesis: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>It is likely that Cage did use a method similar to that of Music of changes<\/em>. \u00a0This means that 4′ 33″<\/em> likely uses a duration structure based on phrase and section lengths measured in terms of bars of 4\/4 meter. \u00a0Just as in Music of changes<\/em>, the tempo for each phrase was chosen randomly from a chart of possible metronome markings. \u00a0The durations of each phrase could then be calculated based on the number of beats and the opening and closing tempi. \u00a0This phrase-by-phrase calculation, in fact, is exactly what David Tudor did when learning Music of changes<\/em>, and it is what Cage did in his \u201cTen Thousand Things\u201d pieces of 1953-1956, the titles of which are also expressed as lengths of time (e.g., 26′ 1.1499″ for a string player<\/em>). \u00a0Adding the durations of phrases would give the total duration of the three sections of the piece.<\/p>\n

Second thoughts: \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Did he even intend that this piece be silent when he started composing it? Cage\u2019s system for Music of changes<\/em> was also used for the Seven haiku<\/em>, composed in 1951-1952. \u00a0The Haiku<\/em> were much shorter and very sparse, with long silences. \u00a0It is completely possible that one of these Haiku<\/em> could have turned up with no sounds in it at all. \u00a0Was the first movement of 4′ 33″<\/em> an accident? \u00a0Like the ancient Chinese who originally consulted the I ching<\/em>, did Cage interpret this pattern derived by chance as a sign that the time was right to finally make his silent piece?
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

5. 0′ 00″<\/em><\/h1>\n
\n

0′ 00″ (4′ 33″ No. 2)<\/em>: \u00a0In a situation provided with maximum amplification (no feedback), perform a disciplined action.<\/p>\n

Score for 0′ 00″<\/em> (October 1962)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Question: \u00a0<\/strong>Why did Cage call this piece 4′ 33″ No. 2<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Hypothesis: <\/strong>0′ 00″<\/em> was Cage\u2019s attempt to point to silence more clearly than he had in 4′ 33″<\/em>, although the silence itself is the same. \u00a04′ 33″<\/em>, as composed in 1952, had a specific structure, composed with specific, unchanging durations. \u00a0By 1958, he had rejected such scores. \u00a0In a lecture at Darmstadt, he referred to Music of changes as \u201ca Frankenstein monster\u201d because of the way its fully prescriptive score controls the pianist who performs it. \u00a0The unchanging score of 4′ 33″<\/em> had the same flaws and made it seem that silence was an object to be contemplated. \u00a0In 0′ 00″<\/em> Cage makes it clear that the silence is always here in every action that we make: we have only to turn towards it. \u00a0The amplification is a skillful means for helping us to make this turning. \u00a0The emphasis on action prevents us from turning the piece itself into a kind of aesthetic fetish. \u00a0The discipline of the action keeps the performer from lapsing into the self-indulgent. \u00a00′ 00″<\/em> is thus an improved version of 4′ 33″<\/em>: it is 4′ 33″<\/em>, version 2.<\/p>\n

Second thoughts: \u00a0<\/strong>Did Cage ever wish that he hadn\u2019t written 4′ 33″<\/em>? \u00a0Why didn\u2019t he perform it or write about it in the 1950s? \u00a0How could he have published a book called Silence without including any discussion of the silent piece? \u00a0Does it even mention the piece once? \u00a0Perhaps he was just tired of everyone else talking about it, pinning that label onto him. \u00a0Was 0′ 00″<\/em> his attempt to redeem the piece and to liberate himself from it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Silent prayer [I intend] to compose a piece of uninterrupted silence and sell it to Muzak Co. \u00a0It will be 3 or 4\u00bd minutes long\u2014those being the standard lengths of \u201ccanned\u201d music\u2014and its title will be Silent Prayer. \u00a0It will open with a single idea which I will attempt to make as seductive as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":841,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[67,66,14,65,68],"class_list":["post-715","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-cage","tag-0-00","tag-4-33","tag-cage-2","tag-silent-piece","tag-string-quartet-in-four-parts"],"yoast_head":"\nFive statements on silence by John Cage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Commentary about the nature of silence in the music of John Cage, based on statements he made.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/\",\"name\":\"Five statements on silence by John Cage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-10T01:44:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-09-02T12:54:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"Commentary about the nature of silence in the music of John Cage, based on statements he made.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Writings\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Five statements on silence by John Cage: Questions, hypotheses, second thoughts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/\",\"name\":\"The piano in my life\",\"description\":\"James Pritchett on music & writing\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Five statements on silence by John Cage","description":"Commentary about the nature of silence in the music of John Cage, based on statements he made.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/","url":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/","name":"Five statements on silence by John Cage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-01-10T01:44:47+00:00","dateModified":"2013-09-02T12:54:37+00:00","description":"Commentary about the nature of silence in the music of John Cage, based on statements he made.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/five-statements-on-silence-by-john-cage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Writings","item":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/writings\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Five statements on silence by John Cage: Questions, hypotheses, second thoughts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/","name":"The piano in my life","description":"James Pritchett on music & writing","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/715\/revisions\/899"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosewhitemusic.com\/piano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}