vimeo.com
scientist have identified the oldest musical
instrument in the world. this artifact looks like a flute made of bird bone and
mammoth ivory. this flute is between 42.000 and 47.000 years old which means
music has always been a part of human life for many years. music is also one of
things that can be universally accepted (a universal language). for many
people, music is enjoyable entertainment that can make your body twist and
dance or even for religious purposes. some artists use music to spread their
message. we can find messages of peace in reggae music, for example.
most of us agree that music is always relate to
these elements like tone, rhythm, melody, lyric and musical instruments that must be present in every song and musical work. on the other hand, you
will find something extremely different when you hear or see the video of
4’33’’ (four thirty three) by John Cage, because all you can hear is four minutes
and 33 seconds of silence.
John Cage was an American composer and pianist
in the Avant-Garde period (late 19th century). in 1952, Cage composed his best
known and most controversial creation, 4’33’’. that’s also called “a silent
peace”. the debut performance for this piece of art was given to David Tudor in
Living Theater, New York. during his performance he only set silently at the
piano, opened the keyboard lid, then he closed it and reopened it three times
as there were only three ‘movements’ in this absurd performance i have ever
watched. i wonder what i would do if i
was in attendance. i might have been fooled and left the room with no doubt
just like everyone did that time. i think it’s a normal reaction because we
will never be in an empty gallery, we will never be in a concert without sound.
everyone has a concept of how things should be, how a gallery should be
(presenting sculptures or paintings). sitting silently for any length of time
is not something that people expect.
now we need to see the piece of art in a
different light. we need to find the reason behind why John Cage made this
piece. before he created this piece, he was in India to learn about Zen
Buddhism and in Buddhism, silence is the only one appropriate reaction to a variety
of different question, such as ‘does god exist?’, ‘where do we go when we
die?’. human language is limited and can’t define the absolute truth. that is
why silence is the only answer or response according to Buddha.
rugusavay.com
on the other hand, Cage found that there is no
such thing as silence. something is always happening that makes a sound which
is related to body language, expression of our mind, feeling, etc. Cage also
found that music can be in harmony with nature as ‘art is the imitation of
nature in her manner of operation’. in 1951, he found himself by sitting in a room fully soundproofed to
experience absolute silence. he was right, there is no such thing as silence.
he only heard two sounds, one high and one low. the high one was his nervous
system and the other one was his blood circulating. after that he said, “until
i die there will be sounds and they will continue following my death. one need
not fear about the future of music”.
it’s impossible for us to experience absolute
silence, we will always have something to hear that can’t be avoided. it brings to mind another point of
view, the chirp of cricket can be just as musical as the Nocturnes by Fredic
Choppin if you choose to hear it that way. Cage wants to make us more sensitive to the various sounds
that surround us in this world at all times in our lives. furthermore, 4’33’’
is not about listening to nothing, it’s much more than that it’s about
listening to everything.
references:
news.nationalgeographic.com/news
buku: apa itu musik? by karina andjani
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