When I think of silence, I think of quiet meditative moments like a hike down a deserted forest path, an early morning sunset before the world wakes up, or a staycation at home with a good book. But we also know other silences: awkward silences, eerie silences, and the case of John Cage’s infamous conceptual work. 4 minutes 33 seconds-A mysterious silence that asks us to listen, not to hear nothing. all. Rather than focusing our attention on our auditory senses, Cage’s formalized listening practice disperses our attention to the nervous coughing and squeaking of shoes in a restless audience, the constant flow of traffic and breathing, and the ambient white noise of heating and air conditioning.
And the floating black noise of death metal…
we are used to seeing 4 minutes 33 seconds It was “performed” as a classical exercise, with a dignified pianist sitting on a bench, ostentatiously flipping through the pages of Cage’s “score.” But despite some people’s claims that this exercise is a hoax, there’s no reason why it can’t be effective in any genre, including metal. NPR’s All Songs TV brings you the video above, “64 years after pianist David Tudor’s debut performance,” death metal band Dead Territory line up behind their instruments, tune up, and take on Cage. “There’s a setup, earplugs in, a quick guitar chug, a drumstick countoff, and… silence.”
As with any performance, 4 minutes 33 secondswe are not only attracted to what we hear, in this case the sounds of whatever room we are watching the video in, but we are also attracted to what we see. And watching these five metalheads, accustomed to delivering sustained attacks, solemnly nod in silence for more than four minutes adds yet another layer of interpretation to Cage’s experimentation, asking us to think of performative avant-garde art as a realm suitable for everyone, not just rarefied classical or arthouse audiences.
Also, despite their seriousness, NPR reports that Dead Territory’s views areanother in long line of 4 minutes 33 seconds Performance We understand that Cage had a sense of humor while expanding our musical world. ” Cage happily offered his experiments to the world, letting them adapt and improvise as needed. 4 minutes 33 seconds In Harvard Square – he was willing to put his own spin on silence.
Note: An earlier version of this post appeared on our site in 2016.
Related content:
Watch a performance of John Cage’s “Silent” 4 minutes 33 seconds Presented by Nam June Paik in Harvard Square (1973)
Interesting score for John Cage’s “silent” Zen works 4 minutes 33 seconds
When the Berlin Philharmonic performed John Cage’s iconic song 4:33 that captured the loneliness of the pandemic (2020)
josh jones I’m a writer and musician based in Durham, North Carolina.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
