John Cage

The "music" that John Cage claims to create seems to fit in with any other art that is extremely controversial at the time. He creates scores on the basis that harmony is not important, which does not follow traditional ways of writing music. He has "little feeling for harmony", even though it is predetermined as one of the basic elements of music. His music does not necessarily make sense to me, nor do I enjoy it as real art as it takes no real skill, however I believe that his ideas are important as with any other ideas that protest against traditional ways.

When Cage is asked how he feels about his work being viewed as comical, he responds that he does not mean to be funny, however, "if something funny happened, it would be acceptable... better laughter than tears." His response is pretty great, as I find his work to be mildly funny. His notorious piece "4:33" in which he merely sits on a chair in front of a piano and does nothing, is funny in the sense that it takes no real skill, work, or seriousness. The only possible thing that I can appreciate about this piece is that it is ambient in a way, as it forces the audience to listen to silence which, naturally, brings relaxation. It allows the audience to listen to sounds all around them that would otherwise go unnoticed or unappreciated, not that random coughs or chairs creaking need to be appreciated.