The nature of the contribution to the development of the performance tradition - John Cage.

Authors Avatar

                                                                                     

                 

The nature of the contribution to the development of the   performance tradition- John Cage

American composer John Cage had a profound influence on avant-garde music and dance. He was born on 5th September 1912 in Los Angeles, California and died in New York City on 12th August 1992.

Cage’s work has had a stimulating effect on 20th century music and art. He is recognised as the inventor and leading figure in the field of indeterminate composition by means of chance operations.

John Cage’s idea of composing chance music was not by choice; his ideas were inspired by Eastern Philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism. Its influence was so deep on Cage that many say he was more of a philosopher than a composer.

He intended to capture everyday noises as musical instruments. Sound and nature, which were closely related to each other in Cage’s context, fascinated him. He expressed is views on music in his manifesto ‘The Future of Music’. This portrayed what Cage believed: that any sound or noise we hear is music and therefore the differences between life and art should be eliminated.

Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating. The sound of a truck at 50mph. Static between the stations. Rain. We want to capture and control these sounds, to use them, not as sound effects, but as musical instruments.

(Cage on ‘The Future of Music’- from a lecture given in 1937, taken from

‘Time for John Cage’)

At one of his concerts, musicians played beer bottles, automobile brake drums, flowerpots, “…anything we can lay our hands on”. (Cage, from Goldberg, 2001)

This, again, shows his feel for nature in his music by using everyday objects, which represent everyday noises, rather than conventional instruments.

Join now!

My favourite piece is the one we hear all the time if we are quiet.

(Cage, from Goldberg, 2001)

In 1942 Cage settled in New York City. Influenced by Zen Buddhism, Cage often used silence as a musical element, with sounds as items hanging in time; he looked to achieve randomness in his music. In 1952 he arrived at his most famous silent work 4’33”.

4’33” was a “piece in three movements during which no sounds are intentionally produced” (Goldberg, 2001:126)

The piece is a composition containing 4 minutes and 33 seconds of ‘silence’. The performers sit ...

This is a preview of the whole essay