Sound Bite Sample Project

sound bite sample "song"

John Cage

 

Analysis of John Cage Documentary

I was first introduced to the work of John Cage in my Digital Media 245 class with Jeanne Jo. We discussed what appears to be his most renowned work, “4'33”. 4'33 is a piece that was originally shown to an audience in which John Cage presented silence for precisely four minutes and thirty three seconds. It didn't matter what happened during that time frame, it was the purpose of the piece. This particular piece was meant to be a subjective experience and a reflection of ones self during a time of silence.

In the documentary, a woman asked Cage if he'd be disappointed if someone purposely interrupted his presentation of 4'33 in which his response was basically “no.” Some of the participants heard noises, such as coughs and maybe even laughter. Others surely zoned out and heard nothing but the voices and sounds that occupy their own heads. The conversation of 4'33 was it's mechanism for greatness. Cage forced his listeners to do just that – listen. He wanted his observers to find the beauty in any sound and get past the mind's tenancy to think unconventional sounds aren't pretty.

From all the work I saw in his documentary, 4'33 remains my favorite. It was a philosophical work and I believe it was his true genius. Although, he had an amazing appreciation and optimism toward strange sounds I never found myself nodding my head to his “music.” In the documentary Cage said he's never responded to melody and I believe that to be my disconnect from his work. Math is incredibly important in music. All humans sense math and without it there is no melody, no pace and, for me, no connection. John Cage certainly appreciates sound but he never produced anything that made me feel anything.

Perhaps his purpose was inspiration. 4'33 premiered in 1952, just before a massive revolution in music. One can only help but wonder how much of an impact he had on the unconventional music that arose just a decade after his most renowned work.