Listening Report 1 John Cage Water Walk

 

Maria Alighourchi

7489718

The Future of American Music

 

Listening Report 1

John Cage

Water Walk

 

The first thing that struck me, is that the  title of this song or rather “organization of sounds”, happened to be “Water Walk”. A rather curious title, given that Cage does not walk in water, or does anything that pursues such activity. So the question comes up – Why is this piece called Water Walk? Cage explains it by saying that this piece contains water and he walks while performing. Concludingly, this piece, in particular, is not only about the sounds, but also about the performance of it. So then, I am not about to write only a listing report, since the eyes are also a crucial part of this special piece.

Since I always view any kind of art as a medium to tell a story, I could not help myself to do so with Cage and this piece too. The fact, that the sounds are not at all randomly chosen in the moment of performance, but are precisely planned and stopwatch structured by Cage, implies that this work is utterly planned and scripted beforehand. This very style of performance reminds me of much more of theatre then music, but maybe there is not such a big difference between them, and maybe that is what Cage essentially wants to achieve with this piece. He does not only want to extend the definition of music, or make people aware that music is all around if one listens, but takes a step further, combining hearing and seeing into something completely new, for which we do not possess a dictionary word yet.

Cage starts with plucking the strings of a piano, where, on top of it, is lying a fish toy. The viewer sees that due to a mirror that is placed perfectly to make the audience aware of its presence, its very random presence. But it is not random at all, is it? On top of that, he plucks the strings of a piano - a piano, which is normally played with its keys. Cage opens his piece with these specific decision of tones and performance, delivering an act not comparable to any kind of music.

Furthermore, it is safe to say that the most dominant sound or performance act is the element water. He uses a water heater on a stove, a bathtub, and even ice cubes while he walks around on the stage, combing the sounds of the element. Cage also waters flowers and drinks some sort of alcohol during his performance. Then he suddenly starts to hit the table, piano keys, and boxes, as well as the bathtub full of water. Afterwards, he continues again with his routine of walk and water until he smashes every box off the table and takes the lid off the water heater, climaxing and ending his performance.

As I stated earlier, I happen to connect any kind of art to the story, I think, it tells and its unique style of storytelling. Water Walk reminds me of an apartment with a man participating in domestic activities while he is mentally on a different planet, and which mental state overwhelms him in the end. The different sounds and tones Cage creates through water have their own rhythm of mundane, domestic sounds that the audience is to deaf to listen during a mundane day but catches their attention on the stage with Cage. My view of the purpose of Water Walk is to enlighten the audience of their “everyday music”, and how, when one really listens, it could have the same effect as “classical” music. Although the audience in the video is mostly amused and humored by his performance and the sounds, the host declares how serious Cage is about his piece. Perhaps, Cage wants to raise awareness of the most musical sound created – the sounds of life.