Sound & Ambience
John Cage
Chance
Composer and music theorist, John Cage (Sep 5, 1912 – Aug 12, 1992), was an innovator in the field of music and instruments – influencing the music I this time as well as musicians in our own 20th Century.
More specifically, Cage is very well known for his masterpiece 4’33”. This performance entails a premeditated, total deficiency of intentional musical sound. This whole concept was intended to evoke the human mind into listening to the audio a person can hear when total quiet is staged.
Figure 1. John Cage (1988)
It is important to note that audio and expression is left up to chance, not all things in thus world can be controlled.
It should be noted that Cage recommended listening to music as brief happenings, constant change, unpredictability – chance. To remove focus on the interactions specific sounds may have with each other and focusing on every noise individually. Focus on fickle behaviour of noise.
Notation Drawing
I wanted to implement the concepts of chance and randomness into my notation drawings for my audio. I wanted to create illustrations that represent a limited artistic control over an artwork. I wanted to use my hands but simultaneously not use them to form any deliberate elements to my notation drawings.
I decided to use a metal clip coat hanger to grasp my markers. I know that the metal grip against the plastic bodies of the markers would create a flimsy grip, thus forming an unpredictable outcome and very limited control. I would then simply spin the hanger and hold it by its neck, further hindering my ability to waver the randomness and uncertainty of the notations.
I used two alcohol-based markers, contrasting primary colours (red & blue) for my first artwork. I wanted there to be a clear distinction between each marker.
After that, I proceeded to use my STAEDTLER markers, two on each arm of the metal hanger. I was very curious to see if the number of markers would increase the randomness.
Here are the results.
Figure 2. Two markers on wire clip hanger
Figure 3. Four markers on wire clip hanger
After that, I decided to further decrease my control. I taped a marker to an old necklace and covered my eyes. I swung the marker up and down. After about 10 seconds I would proceed to change the colour of the marker, also selecting it by random. After a few layers it was complete.
This was the final notation.
Figure 4. Markers suspended on necklace
I selected two candles, one black the other champaign. I stood on top of my bed and began pouring.
These were the final notations.
Figure 5. Black candle drip
Figure 6. Champaign candle drip
Musical Production
For my own music production, I delved into the unpredictability of unremarkable noises. The everyday sounds which you don’t focus on, and do not treat as though it were complete symphony – much like Cage's 4’33” performance where the focus is not on patterns of the audio as a whole but rather each individual sound and vibration.
I sat in my living-room, then walked around my home. As I kept walking and listening to the sounds around me, I could hear the wind outside dancing with the grass, I could hear my siblings thumping up and own the hallway, I could hear my mother boiling the kettle and heating up leftovers in the microwave.
I then recorded these individual sounds with my smartphone, and pieced them together on my computer. After that, I was actually able to appreciate the randomness and deconstructed symphony which takes place in my home on a daily basis.
References
Kim, R. (2012). John Cage in Separate Togetherness with Jazz. Contemporary Music Review: Cage at 100, 31(1), 63–89. https://search.lib.uts.edu.au/permalink/61UTS_INST/1ibc883/informaworld_s10_1080_07494467_2012_712284
Haskins, R. (2014). Aspects of Zen Buddhism as an Analytical Context for John Cage’s Chance Music. Contemporary Music Review: Cage (Re)Considered, 33(5-6), 616–629. https://search.lib.uts.edu.au/permalink/61UTS_INST/1ibc883/informaworld_s10_1080_07494467_2014_998426
Haskins, R. (2012). John Cage . London: Reaktion Books.
