Skip to main content

Cage

 

John Cage's Water Walk is a very experimental composition that was first performed in 1960. It is a piece of music that features a collection of ordinary objects being used to create sound. These objects include a bathtub, a rubber duck, an electric mixer, a whistle, and a variety of other items. The piece has a duration of around five minutes, and it is considered to be one of Cage's most famous works.

Upon listening to Water Walk, one is immediately struck by the variety of sounds that are present in the piece. The sounds are often chaotic and dissonant, and they create a sense of confusion and disorder. However, there are also moments of clarity and simplicity, where the sounds are more rhythmic and melodic.

Personally, listening to Water Walk makes me imagine an insect realm where a cockroach knight is on a quest. The variety of sounds in the piece create an atmosphere of unpredictability, and the disjointed rhythms and melodies add to the sense of disorientation. The use of everyday objects to create sound also adds to the surreal quality of the piece, as it seems almost as if the objects themselves are alive and speaking.

As the piece progresses, the sounds become more complex and layered. There are moments where the different sounds seem to clash with one another, creating a jarring effect. However, there are also moments where the sounds harmonize and blend together, creating a sense of unity and coherence.

Overall, John Cage's Water Walk is a fascinating piece of experimental music that challenges the listener's expectations of what music can be. It is a piece that invites the listener to engage with the sounds and to explore the ways in which everyday objects can be used to create art. While it may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying the impact that Water Walk has had on the world of music, and its influence can still be felt today.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure

 Sarah Kumar Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of (American) Music 06 Mar. 2023 Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure According to John Oswald, “[a] plunderphone is a recognizable sonic quote, using the actual sound of something familiar which has already been recorded” (Lecture Slides 18). However, only if the source stays recognizable can it be called plunderphonics. In his album Plexure , several songs are played back and mixed together, thus creating a new sound. This is interesting because while the excerpts of songs that are used are recognizable or at least sound familiar to some degree, played backwards and mashed up as they are in Plexure , they create a new sound. Like on the cover of the album, on which a collage making up a man can be seen, the mixing of different songs played backwards gives a new feeling to something known. The way the songs are mixed makes them unintelligible. The meaning of the words of the original recordings are not able to be compr...

John Cage – Inlets

  This does not sound like music to me. Depending on the interpretation of different players or performers, this piece will always sound different. In this case, it sounds to me like someone is walking through a cave with water at the bottom, dragging their feet through it. Sometimes it sounds like water in a toilet bowl, especially when we hear the water in a bigger shell being swished around. These sounds are relaxing in the background, it is like a gentle stream of water. I just wonder what went through the head of the composer while writing this piece. But I guess he had some experimental ideas that are interesting to try out. Those shells are quite pretty, I have never seen such big ones that are not broken. I was surprised when something else happened towards the end of the piece. That tone which came out of the one shell was so clear, it sounded like a trumpet. I didn’t know that shells can sound like that. It was quite beautiful. It was a nice way to end the piece. I di...

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops III

  The Disintegration Loops is a quartet of albums published in 2002 and 2003 by American avant-garde composer William Basinski. The pieces are made up of tape loop recordings that were played over time, with noise and crackles rising as the tape deteriorated. Basinski noticed this effect when attempting to convert his older recordings to digital format. The completion of the recordings coincided with the September 11, 2001 events, which Basinski witnessed and adds a deeper meaning to the composition. The composition is fascinating in many ways and makes the listener lose track of time. The tape loop recording had a very calming effect on me and put me in a trance-like state when I listened to it in its entirety. The tape loop is really soothing, so much so that I didn't even notice the loss of quality when I first listened to it. It makes you forget about time and allows you to really get into the piece capturing the calmness it exudes. You forget or don't really notice how i...