John Cage
"As far as consistency of thought goes, I prefer inconsistency." --John Cage
Brenna Farrell
ISSM 395
Personal Information
I'm currently integrating Music and Communication Design, mostly
an emphasis on Web Design.
The title I'm working with for my major is Media Studies and I'm set
to graduate this Spring 2012 semester.
Who was John Cage?
• A composer who was most
notably known for composing
Chance music.
• Was also a music theorist, artist,
and writer.
• Famous pieces include 4'33"
and Prepared Piano.
"The first question I ask myself when
something doesn't seem to be beautiful is
why do I think it's not beautiful. And very
shortly you discover that there is no
reason."
Why Cage left college
"I was shocked at college to see one hundred of my classmates in the
library all reading copies of the same book. Instead of doing as they
did, I went into the stacks and read the first book written by an author
whose name began with Z. I received the highest grade in the class.
That convinced me that the institution was not being run correctly. I
left."
How was John Cage Purple?
He looked at other possibilities when it
came to creating music. Sometimes you
don't need to do anything but create a
composition based just on silence for
people to notice their surroundings and
recognize the natural music that is made
by the world.
Cage's Perception on Music
“If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You
begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good
deal of experience.”
“Everything we do is music."
“Whether I make them or not, there are always sounds to be heard and all of them are
excellent.”
Background
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Born in September 5, 1912 in Los Angeles to John
Cage Sr., who was an inventor and Lucretia Harvey, a
journalist.
Studied for a short time at Pamona College but
dropped out because he believed college was no use to
a writer (the career he originally was pursuing).
Later, traveled through Europe for 18 months were he
started writing his first pieces of music.
Returned to America in 1931 and studied composition
with Henry Cowell, Adolph Weiss, and Arnold
Schoenberg.
Cage's first experiments where altering instruments like
putting bolts and screw between piano string's before
playing it.
If They Were a part of ISSM
What would they combine?
o Music
o Global Studies
What would their ILP title be?
Global Music
Statement of Purpose?
To open people's minds to the
musical possibilities of the world
other than the traditional. To show
people how to appreciate the simplicity of life.
Inspiration
John Cage has been a personal inspiration since I first
heard about him and studied him the Fall of 2010
semester. He has shown me that, if you just listen
closely, music surrounding us every day from nature
alone. He has also helped me to open my mind to not
only the endless possibilities and joys in music, but in
living life every day and letting it "act of it's own
accord".
"Our intention is to affirm this life, not to bring order
out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation,
but simply to wake up to the very life we're living,
which is so excellent once one gets one's mind and
desires out of its way and lets it act of it's own accord."John Cage