Reading Response 2

Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I chose the article “The Future of Music: Credo” by artist/composer John Cage.  I chose it because I wanted to see how Cage’s predictions regarding music had fared after over seventy years.  This article was originally a lecture Cage made in 1937, in which he espouses the power of electronic media to change the face of music.  Now, in the year 2008, I was curious to compare Cage’s theories with the realities of sound organization in the modern era.    

What are the main points of the essay?

Cage’s main point in this article is that noise will one day be used to produce complete musical pieces, similar to compositions made by traditional instruments.  Cage goes on to contend that most electronic instruments are extremely limited, in that they only imitate the sounds made by “eighteenth- and nineteenth-century instruments.” Cage believes that such instruments, when properly used, would provide an artist with complete control over the structure of the work.  Thus, what Cage calls “intermediary performers,” will become obsolete, as the composer assumes complete control over the compositions.  With these innovations, the only thing that will link the works of the future with those of the past will be form.  Though the forms will be slightly different, they will still be connected, thus allowing us to remain connected to the musical past.      

How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

Cage’s idea regarding the use of electronics to create music has never had more relevance as it does today.  Modern computers are standardly outfitted with programs, like Apple’s “Garage Band,” capable of creating full-scale musical compositions using nothing more than a standard computer keyboard.  Therefore, I feel that Cage’s dream of musical independence via electronics is well within reach, if it has not already been achieved.  Granted, the programs available today are still relatively new, and have not been used to execute experimental works, but the future holds seemingly limitless possibilities for such programs and electronic sound organization.