Reading Blog 2

John Cage “Practiced Sound Insanity”

I’d never really gotten into “sound music” before I heard John Cage. I think a lot of people probably believe that using pure sounds or even the lack-there-of is insulting to music as a genre. I have to disagree with that sentiment. I believe that using pure sound inside a performing space helps remind us how natural music is. During his “Water Walk,” Cage barely uses any instruments in his performance. Yet, the audience can’t help but try to find the melodies in the watering can, and the harmonies in the bathtub splashing. Sound has such an innate connection to us, even if it isn’t as controlled as the string of a guitar or the note of a piano. Every sound has some emotional implication.

The sound of silence is crucial to music and art as a whole. We use it to build tension, to emphasize a point, to give audio respite. I understand the idea that “true silence does not exist,” but I believe in the lack of intentional noise. Taking away any audio aids from your listener creates a new atmosphere. This atmosphere can be either freeing or suffocating, depending on the listener. Perhaps a listener does not like to listen to the uncontrolled world around them. They don’t want to listen to their breaths, the cough from across the theatre, the spatter of laughter in the back. The truth is that “silence” makes us think much harder than controlled music does. This can be uncomfortable, especially if you spend your day immersed in controlled entertainment. 

(a still from Window, Water, Baby Moving, a completely silent film that made me hyper-focused on all other sound)