John Cage's music "Water Walk" was
originally performed in 1960. The use of commonplace things as instruments
makes the work distinctive. A bathtub, a rubber duck, a radio, and other
objects are required by the score. A fun and experimental atmosphere that
questions conventional ideas of music is the final result.
I found myself listening to "Water Walk" and
felt both curious and amused. Seeing how Cage used these seemingly
insignificant things into a well-resolved musical composition was intriguing.
Particularly intriguing were the noises of the rubber duck and bathtub, which
gave the music a unique “texture” that I had never heard before.
Nevertheless, there were also times when the noises
were startling and discordant, which gave me a somewhat uneasy feeling. It
seems as though Cage was consciously attempting to subvert my preconceived
notions of what music ought to sound like. While this was first difficult, I
discovered that as the composition developed, I started to be more receptive to
these unusual noises.
The way "Water Walk" blurred the lines
between music and performance art was one of the things that really grabbed me
about it. It was nearly as fascinating to see the performers work with the
various objects as it was to hear the sounds they were making. It appeared as
though the performance piece invited the audience to watch and take part in
addition to listening.
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