John Cage

• John Cage was born on September 5, 1912, in Los Angeles, California, USA
• John Cage passed away on August 12, 1992, in New York City, USA
• Cage is a key figure in American postmodernist music, challenging traditional notions of composition, structure, and performance
• Cage's notable works include:

  • "4'33"" (1952): a composition where performers remain silent, highlighting ambient sounds
  • Sonatas and Interludes (1946-1948): a work for prepared piano, altering the piano with various objects for a unique sound
• Cage pioneered aleatoric (chance) and indeterminate music, leaving aspects of the composition to chance or unspecified
• Cage collaborated with artists like choreographer Merce Cunningham, creating works where music and dance were combined during performance
• John Cage's innovative ideas had a profound impact on contemporary and experimental music, extending to art and philosophy
• Cage embraced "silence" in music, considering ambient sounds as musical and challenging conventional Western musical thought
• Cage was an accomplished writer, with his book "Silence" (1961) exploring his thoughts on music, art, and philosophy
• One of Cage's teachers was Arnold Schoenberg
• John Cage (1912-92) is recognised as one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century music
• In 1937, Cage predicted the age of the synthesiser and modern popular music
• Cage's principal achievements include:

  • Developing the use of percussion, with rhythm as a predominant feature in his early works
  • Exploiting elements of chance and indeterminacy in performance
  • Exploring new sound sources, such as the prepared piano
  • Using new forms of graphic notation
  • Being influenced by eastern philosophy, including Zen Buddhism and Indian art
• Cage studied with Schoenberg and was influenced by Henry Cowell
• Cage's technique of rhythmic structure is described as 'micro-macrocosmic'
• Cage's Sonatas and Interludes (1946-48) were a culmination of his early work and were inspired by Indian aesthetics
• Cage developed the prepared piano, which led to a richly colorful spectrum of sounds
• Four ways in which preparing the piano affects the sound:

  • Quieten it
  • Change its timbre
  • Split it into two or three sounds
  • Shorten its duration
• Cage carefully managed lightweight textures in Sonatas and Interludes to allow the delicate colors of his instrument to shine
• The twenty movements in Sonatas and Interludes were organized symmetrically, with every group of four sonatas separated by an interlude
• The micro-macrocosmic rhythmic structure in Sonatas and Interludes depends on relationships between numbers governing every aspect of the music's duration
• Cage's music structure is based on fractals, where a large shape can be broken down into fragments with the same shape
• For each movement, Cage selects a different number as a basic unit and divides it into varied proportions
• In Sonatas and Interludes, Cage uses fractions and irregular proportions for the first time, leading to complex durations
• Sonatas I-III work on identical principles but with different basic units and structural proportions
• Sonata I:

  • Uses seven-crotchet units in multiples of 4 1 3
  • Binary structure composed of 2 sections of 56 and 42 beats
  • Utilizes the 4 1 3; 4 2 microstructure in bars 1-7 and 13-26
• Sonata II:

  • Uses 31-crotchet units in multiples of 4,2; 4,2; 9½; 9½
  • Binary structure composed of 2 sections of 46½ and 73½ beats
  • Features frequent 3/8 bars and a departure from the underlying pattern at the close
• Sonata III:

  • Uses 34-crotchet units in multiples of 1; 1; 3¼; 3¼
  • Binary structure composed of 2 sections of 34 and 110½ beats
• Tonality:

  • Prepared piano music lacks tonal relationships of scale or key
  • Passages repeat themselves, emphasizing certain pitches
  • Pitched notes often form pentatonic patterns
• Harmony:

  • Cage dismissed harmony as a tool of western commercialism
  • Sonatas and Interludes focus on percussive sounds rather than harmonic progression
  • Some harmonic moments in Sonata I include G7 chords at the opening and parallel chords at bar 20
• Melody:

  • Features immediate repetition of patterns
  • Short statements with defined shapes and phrases separated by rests
  • Arch-shaped melodies are common
  • Limited number of pitches, sometimes suggesting pentatonicism
  • Decorative use of grace notes and rhythmic embellishment
• Rhythm and metre:

  • Rhythmic ideas may repeat immediately but are not recapitulated
  • Patterns are placed unpredictably against the metre
  • Irregular groupings of rhythm are common
  • Off-beat effects can be seen
  • Expected stresses are often displaced, causing the metre to be vague
  • Sonata III makes use of a more regular pulse