Not entirely sure where to post this, since it's technically about a musical conecept and approach than specific genre - so I hope it doesn't die a horrible death out here.
Anyway I wanted to discuss something that's really changed my outlook on music, as well as what we percieve as art in the first place.
For many years now I have been a semi-passive fan of the works of composer John Cage.
Some info about him can be found here if you are curious. I have listened to his complete prepared piano works (some challenging stuff) and enjoyed his more mainstream works like In a Landscape.
But recently, after reading several of his works and interviews I've found a new appreciation for music in general.
One night I decided to experiment with his piece 4′33″ - which he is well known for. The piece consists of four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence, not a single intentional note is played.
For the first minute or so I was a bit lost in my thoughts... after all I usually have music blairing at me all day, my brain tends to surge into activity previously occupied by music when the music stops.
At around the two minute mark I heard my dog (a very large breed with a deep bark) start to growl out the window at passersby... at first I turned to stop him, but held myself back and just listened to the deep, bassy, grinding growl - coupled by random jolts of loud, forceful barks.
I heard my air conditioning activate, cars drive by, people talking in the other room, the hum of my computer's fan... all sort of activate and become players in the piece I was experiencing - and would never hear again. Not only is it the ultimate chance music, it changes my perception of what can be considered music: beyond technicalalties like notes, time signatures, etc. I was experiencing sound and enjoying it as if I were listening to a symphony.
John Cage talks a bit about 'silence'
The meaning of 4'33" accorrding to Cage is to show that there is no silence. Things can stop, notes can stop being played - but sound is a constant. This idea has sort of allowed me to stop my brain from rejecting something, if I don't like a piece of music in the traditional sense I can look at it as simply being sound and I really enjoy it. It's a very hard thing for me to explain, and I'm trying my best. What I'm saying I guess is I've really conditioned my brain to enjoy auditory stimuli a lot more than I did previously, probably because I never really took note of how sound naturally changes and stays interesting.
Once again it's kind of hard for me to explain, it's still knocking around my head right now as I try to find the words for it. And I certainly don't mean to sound snobbish or pretentious or whatever....
Anybody kinda know what I'm getting at?