Comments on: John Cage’s 4’33″ Is Not Music

By: R. Joe

R. Joe — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:28:02 +0000

Excuse you, i AM thinking about these things, and i expect people to accept my opinion based on logic and nothing else, as i do to their opinions. no one in this discussion has shown a lot of logic, including you, thus i shoot them down.

By: Mark Gerard Quigley

Mark Gerard Quigley — Mon, 10 May 2010 08:54:24 +0000

4’33” ~

“For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may spread and preen its wings but cannot fly.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

It is a masterpiece.

By: Jmcg

Jmcg — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:09:07 +0000

R. JOE–How do you expect people to listen to your opinion when you cant even listen to other peoples opinion? Each individual views things and hears things much differently than another person. Isnt it safe to say that each individual thinks differently as well? You dont have to agree with everything that people say, but actually take some time to think about it, dont just shoot it down like an idot. Who knows, maybe someone will say something that will change how you look at things

By: R. Joe

R. Joe — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:33:51 +0000

no, we cannot “both be right” with opposing views. thats ridiculous.

and no, a performance of something musical does not necessarily mean a performance of music. Poetry is musical, but when performing it we cannot call it music. A performance of MUSIC is a performance of music.

By: chychy

chychy — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 19:59:08 +0000

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00319116?query_type=word&queryword=musical&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=2&search_id=Shn7-xUokfB-6319&hilite=00319116

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00305575?query_type=word&queryword=music&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=Shn7-MvB35K-6325&hilite=00305575

you’re really saying that it’s not “musical” in the slightest?
each sound has a distinct tone, duration, rhythm, and timbre.

and if this “composition” (arbitrary as it is…but then, aren’t all artistic conventions arbitrary?) can be qualified as “musical”, than a performance of this “musical” thing makes it music.

By: Cody

Cody — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:45:37 +0000

What is music then? Is self expression, or something more than that? Intuition, logic? A composition using chord structures and harmonies that “sound right” because music theory tells use what is pleasing to the ear and what is not? Sure we can use concrete forms in our lives, but what is music then? A science, or an art form? To dig even deeper, if it is art (which I believe it is), what is “art”? John Cage was asking us to think, to listen to something that we are hearing everyday, but we move too fast with our life to listen. That is his self expression of what his composition is. If you can’t close your eyes and understand that music is all around us, and that some people ARE emotionally moved and inspired by natural sound, then I can see your point. But this all depends on your definition of music. Which I can slightly see in the middle of the article, but I cannot clearly see it defined. People can view this as music or not. Personally, I think this all depends on your definition of music. I think we can both be right.

By: R. Joe

R. Joe — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:47:09 +0000

You’re right. I would not REALLY consider birdsongs to be music, though they can be musical, which is different. It has nothing to do with nature versus the city.

I don’t consider 4’33 valuable in any way, as I’ve said. It does nothing but waste time.

and distinctions are important. Your visually oriented “poems” sound like they are poetical, but not poetry, as people have told you. I think these distinctions are important. We need to be accurate and precise with language in order to express and understand ideas with maximum ability.

By: steve

steve — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:29:13 +0000

to consider all sounds in the same way that one considers music seems very broad-minded to me, not narrow-minded..

why are birdsongs ‘music’ and not city sounds? that seems like a distinction based on the old, unfounded romantic idea that ‘natural/rural = beautiful’ & ‘urban = ugly.’

and who cares whether carrots are a ‘dish’? they are great to eat. same thing with 4’33″. who cares whether it is ‘music’ or something else? it provides the audience with a valuable experience either way

i make very visually oriented poems that some people say are ‘not poetry.’ they say that, instead, they are visual art. my first answer is that i think they are poetry. my second answer is who really cares what kind of art it is? it is some kind of experience to have, probably enjoyable, maybe thought-provoking

By: R. Joe

R. Joe — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:54:22 +0000

yes, I may call birdsongs music in a way, but I will not call an audience sitting still the same, or the noise in the city. Perhaps you are the one being narrow minded, implying that all natural noise is music. That kind of wholesale generalization is the mark of truly lazy thought that I would only expect from a 4’33 fan.

By: Emanla Eraton

Emanla Eraton — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:05:53 +0000

Your article only demonstrates your narrow-mindedness. Have you ever listened to a chorus of birdsongs in the early morning near a wood or forest? If you have, I doubt that you would call it noise.