The Future of American Music

Let's start with the person behind this unique performance: John Cage. A student of Arnold Schoenberg, who described himself as an inventor of sounds and always emphasized that experimentation was particularly important when it comes to music. His definition of music was always that all “sounds heard are music” and it doesn’t need to be a certain structure or harmony. The world is full of sounds, it only needs an audience to receive those and listen to them.   “There is no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound.” - John Cage     John Cage also always draws comparisons to nature in his pieces, because everything that happens in nature, all sounds, whether random or not, result in music according to his view.   Which is why, in another piece, he wanted the composer to play a piece of wood. He should interpret the annual rings as notes and play the piece of wood.   Or another comparison is also that nature is constantly ...

  John Cage (1912-1992) is an US American componist and one of the most influential componists of the 20th century. Cage describes music as “a purposeful purposelessness” or “purposeless play” (1961), meaning that there is an absence of themes and typical norms. The focus is just on the activity of tones and silence, which represents life. According to Cage, there is no life with absolute silence because tones are an indicator for life. Complete silence can only correlate with the absence of life. Thus, Cage’s aim with his plays is to represent life. An example for this approach is “4’33” by John Cage.”4’33” is a 4 minutes and 33 seconds long play by John Cage that, at first sight, seems to represent silence because nobody from the orchestra is playing their instruments. However, Cage’s definition shows that there is never silence. The play was full of accidental sounds, such as people talking, movement, people breathing and many more. All these different sounds have made the 4’3...

  Author: Julia Ranft B.A. American Studies (HF), English Studies (NF) Email: s0173273@stud.uni-frankfurt.de Matrikelnummer: 7485864 The Future of (American) Music Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath Listening Report 4 John Cage - Sonata II             John Cage was an American composer, philosopher, and artist, widely recognised for his contributions to the development of experimental music. His music was   highly innovative, and he explored various unconventional approaches in his compositions, including using chance operations, non-standard instrumentation, and silence. One of his most notable works is the “Sonata II” for prepared piano, which is an excellent example of Cage’s experimental approach.             The piece is written for a prepared and modified piano, which is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing various objects, such as screws,...

  In our “modern/traditional” minds, music needs to be produced, needs to have a formal framework that was agreed upon decades ago by “old masters”. The music we listen to has the same system behind it. Notes form a chord; tones form a melody; rhythm dictates the pacing, and the length is something we unconsciously agree upon. Most songs, or most music, follow that structure. There is, of course, variance, but this seems to be determined by the style or era of music. Pop songs are short, Heavy Metal longer, and Classical music even longer. But when these rules or principles can be altered, then we can go even further and not just question the macro-structure of music, but the essence of sounds as well. Where do sounds end and music starts? This question is prominent in the era of Avant Garde and many composers, “inventors of sounds”, as they would call themselves, tried to answer this question of the essence of music by creating (inventing) new sounds and composing them into a conn...

  In his, I would say quite or even (pun alert) quiet experimental piece, “4’33,” Cage observes the ostensible absence of sound. Here, music is made out of those interesting background noises. Therefore, this piece of art has some performative aspects. Cage’s conception of silence would be that there is not actually such a thing as silence. He would argue that if there is sound, it means there is life.             As I am listening to this piece in class, I can only imagine how some people in the audience must have felt if they did not know what is going on. Especially, if they were some self-proclaimed music experts listening to basically nothing, at least on the exterior. Obviously, on an interior level of interpretation, this piece is all about what is happening in that single moment or ongoing for those 4’33 minutes. Cage is here quite a sneaky link shedding light on the small and everyday sounds with such an absurd and h...

  I tried to approach this special musical piece Water Walk by John Cage in two different ways. First, I watched the video and tried to get some initial thoughts about it. But the television show atmosphere made it difficult to concentrate only on the music. Listening to the piece a second time, I tried to think of anything it could remind me of. So I started the video a second time and immediately thought of science fiction television shows like Star Trek. It felt hard and challenging to think of this piece in a serious way. It does not feel like music to me because of the lack of a melody. At least for me no melody is recognizable. I could imagine it as a background sound for something else. While listening, I wondered if John Cage really considered this to be music and how he could stay serious during the whole act. The laughing audience especially disturbed my attention. But the kind of sarcastic explanation of the name Water Walk from John Cage himself almost impeded my liste...

  Prof. Dr. Herzogenrath The Future of Avantgarde-Music Blaha, Malte C. Matrikelnummer 7509502   Listening report – John Cage Instead of enjoying the scope of classical and planned Music, Cage recognized a variety of sounds to be ultimately ‘be music’. John Cage is like an action-like ‘Jackson Pollock’ in the world of music. It appears as if he is kind of ‘tuning-in’. Almost everything seems unplanned, yet, Cage illustrates his music in a way, in which something might emerge without the need to plan the actual music ahead. It is remarkable that in the musical works of Cage, there is almost no silence, or in turn, absence of sound. Therefore, the listener receives the idea that silence or the absence of sound means for Cage that there is no life anymore. This comes as there is no real ‘absence of sounds’ throughout his entire musical works. Furthermore, the sounds of Cage sound very exotic and never heard before, kind of out of this world. The way in which Cage ...

  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 an...

  Melanie Diehl (6887890) Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath Winter Semester 2022/2023 The Future of American Music Listening Reports - 16.02.2023 John Cage - Inlets “How can you even call that music?!” he looked at me all weirded out. We sat down discussing about the various tones. I tried to explain the melodies we ignore and that the sounds of everyday life include a certain type of poetry. While he tried to convince me that Mozart would turn around in his grave if he knew that they called this music. That is the effect Cage’s experiments with sounds and tone had on me, and a traumatizing one on my husband, I guess.             When I heard Inlets, I thought the sounds I am hearing were like droplets of water dripping down at the front of a cave’s hole, echoing in the far you can hear sounds like those of an arriving cruise ship, with the horns buzzing. All my husband could hear was noise and Cage pointing the middle...

  Melike Yücel                                                                                                                                                    15.12.2022 Seminar: The Future of American Music Instructor: Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath WS 22/23...

  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...

  Initially it felt a little silly, choosing this particular piece of John Cage for a listening report. But if we keep in mind John Cage's ideology on the purpose of music, the experience becomes infinitely more valuable: “Music is a purposeful purposelessness, or purposeless play, but this play is an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos, not to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake up to the very life we are living, which is so excellent once one gets one's mind and desires out the way and lets it act of its own accord.”               With this philosophy in mind (and the YouTube upload by the Berliner Philharmoniker playing in the background for good measure), my listening experience with this piece ended up a lot more personal than expected; in fact, it left me completely alone with my thoughts and the impulses surrounding them: The creaking of the wooden ceiling, the fai...

 Patryk Merci The Future of American Music Matriculation number: 7613841 Dr. Herzogenrath WS 22/23     Listening Report of John Cage’s “Water Walk”       John Cage was an unconventional composer, because he believed that noise in itself would be important for the future of music, as he perceived noise as a form of music. In his piece “Water Walk” he manages to capture different noises made by common household items and organize them in a way that creates noticeable rhythm and purpose. He manages to use every household item in a certain way that in some portions of the piece does not even have a slight indication that it could be water making those sounds. Meanwhile, water is the central element in the piece, being responsible for developing and upholding the atmosphere.     The piece begins with a sound that resembles fast drums, which creates anticipation and reminds of intensive moments...

  Reem Zedan 7711552 Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of [American] Music 02 February 2022   Inlets by John Cage John Cage ’s music is without a doubt very experimental. An example of that is his piece “ Inlets. ” The piece consists of water movements that produce different sounds because of different positions. The listener hears drops of water at first and then water that is moving in an unknown container. I was also able to detect the sound of bubbles in there somewhere. Interestingly, a form of static noise is later added to the list of sounds and then a loud long horn-sounding tune can be heard. This tune marks the end of the piece. Watching   “ Inlets ” being performed looked absolutely ridiculous. It was played by four men, who had shells that were filled with water. These men then proceeded in shaking the shells to create different sounds next to a couple of microphones. Again, a very bizarre way to create sound. Even though the movement did c...

  John Cage’s “Music for Carillon No.1” is a short avant-garde musical piece that consists of unconventional rhythms as well as the melody, as if the artist is randomly playing the carillon bells. The unconventional use of the bells that is capsuled in four minute demonstrates the artist’s approach to the traditional ways of using the instruments. While carillons are often used in churches in a way slower and melodic rhythm which most people who have been in a town with church buildings might be familiar of; Cage’s performance for this piece is in quite the opposite way, more like questioning the traditional ways that only repeat each other for over centuries now. My personal experience of “Music for Carillon No.1” is absolutely inconsistent and relatively elusive. I felt deeply uneasy with Cage’s use of bells, accompanied with forcing myself to be able to focus on the unconventional melody. I did not even get to be dragged in the mood of the piece because of zoning in and out. W...

 Sarah Kumar Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of (American) Music 05 Mar. 2023 Listening Report on John Cage’s Water Walk The video starts with the introduction of the various items in the room John Cage’s explanation that the title of the composition is Water Walk because it “contains water” and he “walks during its performance” ( Water Walk 0:20). Furthermore, the host clarifies that the “sounds are not accidental in their sequence” which is why John Cage will be using a stopwatch during the performance (0:48). According to Cage, “[m]usic is purposeful purposelessness” which in turn is an “affirmation of life” (“Lecture Slides” 7). This becomes evident in his actions during the performance in which he walks around lifting the lid of a pot with boiling water in it, putting ice cubes in a glass of water, or filling a kettle with water from the bathtub. While these actions may look random, they have purpose in that they are purposelessness. The sounds of this composit...

  John Cage´s piece 4´33´´ is certainly special in many ways. While it might at first appear as an almost comedic performance, the piece is in no way a joke. It is truly individual; no performance is ever the same. Additionally, it differentiates itself from classical orchestral pieces by shifting the focus from the orchestra to the audience. In a sense one could argue that the audience itself becomes the orchestra performing the piece. I personally watched multiple live recordings of 4´33´´ and staying true to its concept, every single one was unique. What I personally found really interesting is how the piece plays with the concept of silence. Technically speaking, silence is the absence of sound, meaning that there is quite literally no sound being produced at all. Now a casual bystander might call the product of 4´33´´ silence, after all the orchestra is not playing anything. Yet the result is in no way silence, after all sound is still being created just the source has chang...

  John Cage's 4'33 is a unique and quite controversial piece of music first performed in 1952. The composition consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of “absolute musical silence," during which the perceived performers do not play any instrument; instead, the audience has been turned into the performers themselves. The creators of this piece change its sound with every audience. In 4'33, the audience is meant to experience the sound of their surroundings, creating a kind of "aural landscape" themselves. Here, the absence of sound is artificial; the orchestra getting ready to perform the piece creates the illusion that sound will soon follow. However, it was qui[e]te (pun intended) confusing when nothing – at least, no expected sound – was played. Instead, the attention shifted to what had happened in the room. The audience there and within the classroom looked around for an indication of what was happening . The shift of attention from the expec...

  Ioannis Kaladidis 6714044 Master Wirtschaftspädagogik             Let's start with the person behind this unique performance: John Cage. A student of Arnold Schoenberg, who described himself as an inventor of sounds and always emphasized that experimentation was particularly important when it comes to music. His definition of music was always that all “sounds heard are music” and it doesn’t need to be a certain structure or harmony. The world is full of sounds, it only needs an audience to receive those and listen to them.   “There is no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound.” - John Cage     John Cage also always draws comparisons to nature in his pieces, because everything that happens in nature, all sounds, whether random or not, result in music according to his view.  Which is why, in another piece, he wanted the composer to play a piece of wood. He shoul...

  John Cage’s work is definitely what I imagined as Avantgarde music. Especially the piece “Water Walk”, which was initially really ridiculous to me. It reminded me of that one time I went to the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt and I saw a bunch of people standing around a box full of junk trying so hard to interpret something of it. Now, don't get me wrong. I love art and I have an appreciation for modern art as well, but I rather enjoy the creativity and weird ideas the artists have than to try and wrack my brain about what it could mean. Because sometimes people are just having fun. I think that goes hand in hand with the quote from John cage about not necessarily calling his music ‘ music ’.   After our session on John Cage, I went home and showed the clip of Water Walk to my parents and they made so much fun of it. It made me a little sad, to be honest. And I know that Cage himself said his pieces are meant to be funny in a way (I have to admit, the first time I saw...