Silence and Noise - Bianco

The relationship between silence and noise is an essential question in today’s society.  Noise can be defined as the everyday clatter that often surrounds us in today’s society. This type of noise allows for the individual to associate memories and experiences around such noise. Such as the clatter of kitchenware might become associated with the creation of food. Yet, silence becomes the opposite, silence is either defined as moments of quiet contemplation without noise or disruption. The relationship between that of noise and silence is duality. Duality is two objects that are separate yet intertwined. Noise and silence are intertwined yet separate in that, silence expresses that which cannot be expressed in noise. Silence itself cannot be defined; it is limitless in its expression and undefined by society. However, In John Cage’s lectures on silence, Cage aim to demonstrate the dualistic characteristics of silence and music. Silence is so intertwined with that of music and sound that one cannot ever fully achieve absolute silence. Therefore, there can only be noise, which is intended and that, which is not intended.

In intertwining the silence within music, Cage allowed for more focus on the duration of the song instead of the harmony. Harmony structuralizes music with the focus on pitch, length and dynamics. As a society, we’ve also created preconceived notions of the music that we like and the music that we don’t like and what music ought to sound like. With a focus on silence, the forces the audience to listen to the duration of the silence and to move away from preconceived notions. For instance, when Cage demonstrates his square root form he states, “ That music is         simple to make       comes from        one’s willingness to accept         the limitations         of structure” (Cage, 111). In this statement, Cage demonstrates the square root form, which is Cage’s musical structure, which he then translates to text by using both rational and irrationality. He demonstrates that music is a unifying experience. Without harmony, silence, and duration it becomes noise or unidentifiable by our societal standards. Silence becomes the definition of chaos, it fails to be structured or unified under any circumstances.

            Cage’s experiment with silence and music also shows how far as a society that we have moved away from naturalism. In nature, silence is a norm; the duality of silence and white noise combined surrounded the individual with contemplation. Yet, in today’s society we have created music to affect our environment, to cause emotional arousal. Instead of using music to demonstrate our perception of the world around us, we’ve used it as a method to create and define a perception. For example, Cage states, “Pure Life      expresses itself     within      and through structure.        Each moment    is absolute,       alive and significant” (Cage 113). In this statement, Cage expresses how life structuralizes itself whether it’s the environment or humans; life has become structuralized through morals, laws and societal expectations. Cage focused upon the relationship between silence and music in order to gain a better understanding of the perception of music.