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Originally Posted by The Batlord
But what's the distinction between actual music and the general concept of art?
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Sound, basically, but why do they have to be distinct?
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To me 4'33's worth is that it exists as a challenge to the concept of what is and what is not music, but is ultimately a portal to the understanding of music without necessarily being music in and of itself. If I were at a performance of 4'33 I would consider the sounds I heard to be potentially music, but those sounds would be divorced from 4'33 itself since they would exist with or without it. The only connection would be giving me a presentation that would encourage me to bridge my idea of sound and music.
4'33 as a concept has no sounds to connect to any "emotional triggers" that music would activate by virtue of the sounds being heard.
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It exists to demonstrate the musicality of those noises by giving them the stage in a context where people are actively listening. It's definitely a statement and meant to be a learning experience, but the idea is that those noises are up for grabs, so when 4'33" puts its focus on those sounds for the performance, those sounds are 4'33" regardless of whether or not they had to be manipulated into the work to become a part of it. It's not a silent piece.