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When you talk about the weather everybody knows exactly what you mean. But what if you want to talk about silence? The first few steps, the first few sounds: the first moment when you hear a sound – it changes: hearing more, hearing less, hearing better, hearing worse – but you will always hear something and suddenly you can never stop listening. Unsilence is a system, a structure, a framework to visualise John Cage’s antithesis of sound and silence. Speak the text, or speak nothing – display images, perform it in pubic or private. The text is based on John Cage's writings and lectures about silence and sound.
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UNSILENCE
SILENCEThere is no such thing as
UNSILENCE
THE ANARCHY OF SILENCE
TOTAL-SOUND-SPACE
JOHN CAGE
THE ANTITHESIS
SOUND
S
ILENCE
When
you ta
lk ab
out the w
eather
everyb
ody knows e
xactly
what yo
u mean
.
But w
hat if y
ou want to
talk
about s
ilence?
Sile
nce see
ms to be o
ne of th
e grea
test m
ystery
of all.
The first few ste
ps, the firs
t few
sounds: the fir
st moment w
hen you
hear a s
ound – it changes:
hearing
more, hearing less,
hearing better,
hearing worse
– but you will
always
hear something and suddenly
you
can never st
op listening.
Unsilence is
a syste
m, a str
ucture, a
framework to visu
alise John Cage’s
antithesis
of sound and sile
nce.
Speak the text, or speak nothing –
display
images,
perform
it in pubic
or priv
ate.
SILENCE
SILENCEPronunciation: sailens
noun
Complete absence of sound –Sirens pierce the silence of the night an eerie silence descended over the house.
The fact or state of abstaining from speech –Karen had withdrawn into sullen silence she was reduced to silence for a moment.
The avoidance of mentioning or discussing something –Politicians keep their silence on the big questions.
The state of standing still and not speaking as a sign of respect for someone deceased or in an opportunity for prayer –A moment of silence presided over by a local minister.
d e f i n i t i o n o x f o r d e n g l i s h d i c t i o n a r y
Silence became the central to Cage’s work, the thing with which he was most often connected. Silence however, is never created – it is always (t)here before one can produce anything on top of it. Silence is the greatest mystery of all.
JOHN
CAGE
QUESTIONS
Wha
t if I
ask
you
som
e
Is there such a thing as silence?
Is silence athematic?
Even if I get away from people, do I still have to listen to something?
If I can see it do I have to hear it too?
Is there always something to hear?
Never any peace an quiet?
If I don’t hear it does it still communicate?
will that make things clear?
SILENCE IS THE COMPLETE ABSENCEOF SOUND
d e f i n i t i o n o x f o r d e n g l i s h d i c t i o n a r y
Is that even possible?
But first – what is a sound
SOUND
SOUNDPronunciation: sound
noun
The sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmit-ted through the air or other medium –
Mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, traveling in air at a speed of approximately 1087 feet (331 meters) per second at sea level –
The particular auditory effect produced by a given cause –The sound of music.
Any auditory effect; any audible vibrational disturbance –All kinds of sounds.
A noise, vocal utterance, musical tone, or the like –The sounds from the next room.
d e f i n i t i o n o x f o r d e n g l i s h d i c t i o n a r y
s o u n d
Synonyms –
SOUND, NOISE, TONESound, noise, tone refer to something heard.
Sound and noise –Sound and noise are often used interchangeably for anything perceived by means of hearing.
Sound – Sound, however, is more general in application, being used for anything within earshot: the sound of running water.
Noise –Noise, caused by irregular vibrations, is more properly ap-plied to a loud, discordant, or unpleasant sound: the noise of shouting.
Tone –Tone is applied to a musical sound having a certain quality, resonance, and pitch.
d e f i n i t i o n o x f o r d e n g l i s h d i c t i o n a r y
=
The Characteristics
NOISE is not intel-lectualised – the ear can hear them directly and don’t have to go through any abstrac-tion about them
=
The Characteristics
SOU
ND
acc
ompl
ishe
s no
thin
g
Thi
s is p
er se
jus
t a so
und,
incl
udin
g
all
aspe
cts c
hara
cter
isin
g a
soun
d.
FREQUENCY OR PITCH
TIMPBRE
MORPHOLOGY
AMPLITUDE OR LOUDNESS
DURATION
For anything. it means that noises are as beau-tiful (…) as so-called musical tones, for the simple reason that they are sounds. Regard-ing sounds, the high-est purpose is to have no purpose at all. Each sound is unique and not the same twice. They are a signature of our environment and tell the story of what is happening around us.
SOUND COMES INTO ITS OWNWhat does that mean?
A sound does not view itself as though, as ought, as needing another sound for its elucidation; it has no time for any considera-tion – it is occupied with the performance of its characteristics: before it has died away it must have mead perfectly exact its frequency, its loudness, its length, its overtone structure, the precise morphology of these and of itself.
Wou
ld I
con
tin
ue a
skin
g qu
esti
ons
if q
uest
ion
s we
re n
ot w
ords
but
wer
e so
unds
?
If w
ords
are
sou
nds
, are
they
mus
ical
or
are
they
noi
ses?
I
f sou
nds
are
noi
ses
but n
ot w
ords
, are
they
mea
nin
gful
? A
re th
ey m
usic
al?
Say
, the
re a
re tw
o so
unds
an
d tw
o pe
ople
an
d on
e of
eac
h is
bea
utif
ul, i
s th
ere
betw
een
all
four
an
y co
mm
unic
atio
n?
An
d if
ther
e ar
e ru
les,
who
mad
e th
em, I
ask
you
? D
oes
it b
egin
som
ewhe
re, I
mea
n, a
nd
if s
o, w
here
doe
s it
sto
p?
Wou
ld w
e ev
er b
e ab
le to
get
so
that
we
thou
ght t
he u
gly
soun
ds w
ere
beau
tifu
l?
If w
e dr
op b
eaut
y, w
hat h
ave
we g
ot?
I a
sk y
ou, s
omet
ime,
too,
sou
nds
hap
pen
ing
in ti
me,
wha
t wil
l hap
pen
to o
ur e
xper
ien
ce o
f hea
rin
g, y
ours
, min
e, o
ur e
ars,
h
eari
ng,
–
wha
t wil
l hap
pen
if s
oun
ds b
ein
g be
auti
ful s
top
som
etim
e an
d th
e on
ly s
oun
ds to
hea
r ar
e n
ot b
eaut
iful
to h
ear
but a
re u
gly,
– w
hat w
ill h
appe
n to
us?
H
ave
we g
ot tr
uth?
H
ave
we g
ot r
elig
ion
? D
o we
hav
e a
myt
holo
gy?
Do
you
mea
n to
say
it’s
a p
urpo
sele
ss p
lay?
I
s th
at w
hat i
t is
when
you
get
up
and
hear
the
firs
t sou
nd
of e
ach
day?
Is
it p
ossi
ble
that
I c
ould
go
on m
onot
onou
sly
aski
ng
ques
tion
s fo
reve
r?
Do
I ha
ve to
kn
ow w
hen
to s
top?
D
oes
it h
elp
aski
ng
ques
tion
s at
all?
May
I a
sk e
ight
mor
e qu
esti
ons?
If I
hav
e tw
o so
unds
are
they
rel
ated
? I
s so
meo
ne
is n
eare
r on
e of
them
than
he
is to
the
seco
nd,
is h
e m
ore
rela
ted
to th
e fi
rst o
ne?
W
hat a
bout
sou
nds
that
are
too
far
away
for
us to
hea
r th
em?
S
oun
ds a
re ju
st v
ibra
tion
s, is
n’t
that
true
? C
an w
e se
para
te s
oun
d fr
om li
fe?
Do
you
know
how
to g
et r
id o
f all
soun
ds?
How
? I
s a
soun
d a
bles
sin
g?
Wou
ld I
con
tin
ue a
skin
g qu
esti
ons
if q
uest
ion
s we
re n
ot w
ords
but
wer
e so
unds
?
If w
ords
are
sou
nds
, are
they
mus
ical
or
are
they
noi
ses?
I
f sou
nds
are
noi
ses
but n
ot w
ords
, are
they
mea
nin
gful
? A
re th
ey m
usic
al?
Say
, the
re a
re tw
o so
unds
an
d tw
o pe
ople
an
d on
e of
eac
h is
bea
utif
ul, i
s th
ere
betw
een
all
four
an
y co
mm
unic
atio
n?
An
d if
ther
e ar
e ru
les,
who
mad
e th
em, I
ask
you
? D
oes
it b
egin
som
ewhe
re, I
mea
n, a
nd
if s
o, w
here
doe
s it
sto
p?
Wou
ld w
e ev
er b
e ab
le to
get
so
that
we
thou
ght t
he u
gly
soun
ds w
ere
beau
tifu
l?
If w
e dr
op b
eaut
y, w
hat h
ave
we g
ot?
I a
sk y
ou, s
omet
ime,
too,
sou
nds
hap
pen
ing
in ti
me,
wha
t wil
l hap
pen
to o
ur e
xper
ien
ce o
f hea
rin
g, y
ours
, min
e, o
ur e
ars,
h
eari
ng,
–
wha
t wil
l hap
pen
if s
oun
ds b
ein
g be
auti
ful s
top
som
etim
e an
d th
e on
ly s
oun
ds to
hea
r ar
e n
ot b
eaut
iful
to h
ear
but a
re u
gly,
– w
hat w
ill h
appe
n to
us?
H
ave
we g
ot tr
uth?
H
ave
we g
ot r
elig
ion
? D
o we
hav
e a
myt
holo
gy?
Do
you
mea
n to
say
it’s
a p
urpo
sele
ss p
lay?
I
s th
at w
hat i
t is
when
you
get
up
and
hear
the
firs
t sou
nd
of e
ach
day?
Is
it p
ossi
ble
that
I c
ould
go
on m
onot
onou
sly
aski
ng
ques
tion
s fo
reve
r?
Do
I ha
ve to
kn
ow w
hen
to s
top?
D
oes
it h
elp
aski
ng
ques
tion
s at
all?
May
I a
sk e
ight
mor
e qu
esti
ons?
If I
hav
e tw
o so
unds
are
they
rel
ated
? I
s so
meo
ne
is n
eare
r on
e of
them
than
he
is to
the
seco
nd,
is h
e m
ore
rela
ted
to th
e fi
rst o
ne?
W
hat a
bout
sou
nds
that
are
too
far
away
for
us to
hea
r th
em?
S
oun
ds a
re ju
st v
ibra
tion
s, is
n’t
that
true
? C
an w
e se
para
te s
oun
d fr
om li
fe?
Do
you
know
how
to g
et r
id o
f all
soun
ds?
How
? I
s a
soun
d a
bles
sin
g?
Wou
ld I
con
tin
ue a
skin
g qu
esti
ons
if q
uest
ions
wer
e no
t wor
ds b
ut w
ere
soun
ds?
If w
ords
are
sou
nds,
are
they
mus
ical
or
are
they
noi
ses?
I
f sou
nds
are
nois
es b
ut n
ot w
ords
, are
they
mea
ning
ful?
A
re th
ey m
usic
al?
Say
, the
re a
re tw
o so
unds
an
d tw
o pe
ople
an
d on
e of
eac
h is
bea
utif
ul, i
s th
ere
betw
een
all f
our
any
com
mun
icat
ion?
A
nd if
ther
e ar
e ru
les,
who
mad
e th
em, I
ask
you
? D
oes
it b
egin
som
ewhe
re, I
mea
n, a
nd if
so,
whe
re d
oes
it s
top?
W
ould
we
ever
be
able
to g
et s
o th
at w
e th
ough
t the
ugl
y so
unds
wer
e be
auti
ful?
I
f we
drop
bea
uty,
wha
t hav
e we
got
? I
ask
you
n ti
me,
wha
t will
hap
pen
to o
ur e
xper
ienc
e of
hea
ring
, you
rs, m
ine,
our
ear
s, h
eari
ng,–
wha
t wilo
p so
met
imea
nd th
e on
ly s
ound
s to
hea
r ar
e no
t bea
utif
ul to
hea
r bu
t are
ugl
y,–
wha
t will
hap
pen
to u
s?
sdsa
fdqa
fqew
xwdk
cjvk
ycjv
kcvj
kdvj
kdvj
kdjv
kcjv
kcxv
jave
we
got t
ruth
? H
vgdf
gdfg
fdgd
gfdg
dfgd
fgdf
gave
we
got r
elig
ion?
D
o we
hav
e a
myt
holo
gy?
ean
to s
ay i
and
hear
the
firs
t sou
nd o
f eac
h da
y?
Ist
ions
fore
ve
rgd
fgd?
D
o I
May
I a
sk th
ree
mor
e qu
esti
on I
f I h
ave
two
sou
Wha
t abo
ut s
ound
s th
a S
oun
ds a
re ju
st v
ibra
t C
an w
e se
para
te s
ound
from
life
? D
o yo
u kn
ow h
ow to
get
rid
of a
ll so
unds
? H
ow?
Is
a so
und
a bl
essi
ng?
W
here
eve
r w
e ar
e,
w
hat
we
hear
is
mos
tly
noi
se.
Whe
n w
e ig
nor
e it
, it
dis
turb
s us
.
Whe
n w
e li
sten
to
it,
we
fin
d it
fas
cin
atin
g.
The
re a
lway
s ar
e so
unds
t
o be
hea
rd a
n a
ll o
f th
em
are
exc
elle
nt.
NOISE IS
Som
eon
e m
ay o
bjec
t th
at t
he s
oun
ds t
hat
happ
ened
wer
e n
ot i
nte
rest
ing.
Let
him
. N
ext
tim
e he
hea
rs t
he p
iece
, it
wil
l be
diff
eren
t, p
erha
ps le
ss i
nte
rest
ing,
per
haps
sud
den
ly e
xcit
ing.
An
d li
fe t
he s
ame:
Alw
ays
diff
eren
t, s
omet
imes
exc
itin
g, s
omet
imes
bor
ing,
som
etim
es g
entl
y pl
easi
ng.
The
dis
harm
ony
of e
very
day
soun
ds is
sim
ply
a ha
rmon
y to
whi
ch m
any
are
unac
cust
omed
.
PURE SOUND
Sounds a
re co
ntinuall
y hap
pening w
hether
you pro
duce them
or not.
They
occur w
hether
intended
or not.
Nothing t
akes p
lace b
ut sounds –
those
that are
notated
and th
ose that
are not.
I HAVE BECOME A
– LISTENER –
SOUNDS
SOUND
ONTROL
A P T U R E A N DC
W
e wa
nt to
I HAVE BECOME A
– LISTENER –
CN
O
TR
OL
If one does not give up his attempts to
control sound,
he may complicate things.
I would like to think that the sounds peo-ple do hear in a con-cert make them more aware of the sounds they hear in the street or out in the count-ry, or anywhere they may be
TOTAL SOUND
SPA
CE
The
re is
no
such
thin
g as
an
em
pty
spac
e or
an
empt
y ti
me.
The
re is
alw
ays
som
ethi
ng to
see
and
som
ethi
ng to
hea
r.
1 Is it low? 2 Is it in the middle? 3 Is it soft? Is it loud? 4 5 Are there two? 6 Or even more than two? 7 Is it a doorbell? 8 Why isn’t it? 9 Was it an air plane? 10 Is it a noise? 11 Is it music? Is it softer than before? 12 Is it supersonic? 13 14 When will it stop? 15 What’s coming? Is it time? 16 17 Is it very short? 18 Very long? 19 Far away? 20 Just medium? 21 Is it coming closer? 22 Is sound enough? 23 Is it a sound? 24 Then again, is it music? 25 Is the word music music? 26 Does it communicate anything? 27 Must it? 28 Is it high? 29 Is it low? 30 Is it in the middle? 31 Is it an interval? 32 What is an interval? 33 How many sounds are there all together? One million? 35 36 Ten thousand? 37 Eighty? 38 Will this never stop? 39 Why won’t it? 40 Should it? 41 How many sounds can you hear at the same time? 42 Are we hearing all the same? 43 Do you disagree? 44 Will you change your mind? 45 Is it high? 46 Is it low? 47 Is it in between? 48 Sounds are just vibrations, isn’t that true?
WHAT
IF I ASK
48
1 Is it low? 2 Is it in the middle? 3 Is it soft? Is it loud? 4 5 Are there two? 6 Or even more than two? 7 Is it a doorbell? 8 Why isn’t it? 9 Was it an air plane? 10 Is it a noise? 11 Is it music? Is it softer than before? 12 Is it supersonic? 13 14 When will it stop? 15 What’s coming? Is it time? 16 17 Is it very short? 18 Very long? 19 Far away? 20 Just medium? 21 Is it coming closer? 22 Is sound enough? 23 Is it a sound? 24 Then again, is it music? 25 Is the word music music? 26 Does it communicate anything? 27 Must it? 28 Is it high? 29 Is it low? 30 Is it in the middle? 31 Is it an interval? 32 What is an interval? 33 How many sounds are there all together? One million? 35 36 Ten thousand? 37 Eighty? 38 Will this never stop? 39 Why won’t it? 40 Should it? 41 How many sounds can you hear at the same time? 42 Are we hearing all the same? 43 Do you disagree? 44 Will you change your mind? 45 Is it high? 46 Is it low? 47 Is it in between? 48 Sounds are just vibrations, isn’t that true?
QUESTIONS
Am I now wiser than before?
Are we getting anywhere asking questions?
MAY I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION?
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
We life in a total sound space.
Any sound at any point
in this total sound space
The exposition of a particular sound in this space
By the alteration of any one of these determinants,
the position of the sound in sound space changes.
Any sound at any point at any point in this total sound space
and
eac
h ex
peri
ence
Eac
h ex
peri
ence
is d
iffe
ren
t
is c
hang
ing. L
ike
life
–
it c
han
ges.
can move to become a sound at any the point.
being the result of five determinants:
can move
to become a sound at another point.
Each moment
presents what happens in our environment.
Frequency or pitch
Amplitude or loudness
Overtone structure or timbre Duration
and
Morphology
Try to make silence we cannot
Try to make silence we cannot
There will always be sounds
JOHN CAGE
bo
rn 5
. Sep
tem
ber
1912
,
in
Los
Ang
eles
Jo
hn
Mil
ton
Cag
e Jr
.
die
d 1
2. A
ugus
t 19
92,
i
n N
ew Y
ork
RADICAL COMPOSERMUSIC THEORIST PHILOSOPHER
ARTIST AND WRITER
PIONEER OF THE 20TH CENTURY AVANT-GARDE CULTURE
The most influential and controversial American experi-mental composer of the 20th century, john cage was the father of indeterminism, a Zen-inspired aesthetic which expelled all notions of choice from the creative process. Rejecting the most deeply held compositional principles of the past – logical consequence, vertical sensitivity, and tonality among them – Cage created a ground breaking alternative to the serialist method, de constructing tradi-tions established hundreds and even thousands of years earlier; the end result was a radical new artistic approach which impacted all of the music composed in its wake, forever altering not only the ways in which sounds are cre-ated but also how they’re absorbed by audiences. Indeed, it’s often been suggested that he did to music what Karl Marx did to government –he levelled it.
JOHN
CAGE
Whether I make them or not,
there are always sounds to be heard and all of them are excellent.
4’33’’ (Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds, 1952
Imaginary Landscape No. 4, 1951
Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano, 1946–48
Fontana Mix, 1958
Cheap Imitation, 1969
BEST KNOWN W
ORK
Whether I make them or not,
there are always sounds to be heard and all of them are excellent.
THE ANTI
THESIS
WHAT IS SILENCE
MAY I ASK AGAIN –
Nonexistent opposite
SOUND
Thi
nk fo
r a
mom
ent a
bout
sou
nd,
how
it h
as p
itch
, lou
dnes
s, ti
mbr
e an
d du
rati
on
a
nd
how
sile
nce
whic
h is
its
none
xist
ent o
ppos
ite
has
onl
y du
rati
on.
Silence has only duration.
SOUND
ANTITHESIS
SILENCE
SOUND
ANTITHESIS
SILENCE
1971
JOHN
CAGE
„By
sile
nce
i m
ean
the
mul
tipl
icit
y of
act
ivit
y th
at c
onst
antl
y su
rrou
nds
us.
We
call
it
sile
nce
bec
ause
it
is f
ree
of o
ur a
c-ti
vity
. It
doe
s n
ot c
orre
spon
d to
ide
as o
f or
der
or e
xpre
ssiv
e fe
elin
g –
they
lead
to o
rder
an
d ex
pres
sion
, but
whe
n th
ey d
o,
it d
eafe
ns u
s to
the
soun
ds th
emse
lves
. „
SILENCE
THERE IS NO SILENCE
THERE IS NO SILENCE
The
re is
no
such
thin
g as
sile
nce.
Som
ethi
ng
is a
lway
s ha
ppen
ing
that
mak
es s
ound
.N
o on
e ca
n ha
ve a
n id
ea o
nce
he s
tart
s re
ally
list
enin
g. I
t is
very
sim
ple
but e
xtra
urg
ent.
I L E N C E OUND
S
Is a
ll of
the
soun
d we
do
not i
nten
d.
Effortless succession of sound arising, existing for a time and then passing away.
Thi
s uns
ilenc
e is s
impl
y a n
ew m
usic
to w
hich
man
y are
una
ccus
tom
ed.
We w
ant t
o
CO
O TN L
Rem
oving a
uthoria
l contro
l
allo
ws unex
pected
an eq
ually v
alid
conju
nctions a
nd outcom
es bu
t pre
sents
clea
r par
amete
rs.
BUT WE C
ANNOT
This play, however, is an affirm
ation of life-
not an attempt to bring order out of chaos
not to suggest improvem
ents in creation,
but simply a way of waking up to the very life we are living,
which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind
and one’s desires out of it’s way
and lets it act of its own accord.
THE ANARCHY OF
S
I
L
E
E
N
C
I had thought of leaving this last section
SILENT
THIS MOMENTIF YOU LET IT,
THIS MOMENTIT SUPPORTS ITSELF
ALL YOU CAN DO –
IS SUDDENLY LISTEN
Nadine Resch – Graphic Arts – 2012
