Know anything about the Sonatas? Cage learnt from Indian philosophy, the purpose of music was "to sober and quiet the mind", not to break traditions. He wanted to transform the "permanent emotions" into music.
What he wanted, was not just simply to destroy any traditions, but not to become enchained by traditions.
Do not become enchained by any fixed idea about how to play Cage and how not to play Cage. As Cage wrote: Get out of whatever cage you find yourself in.
There's tons of really incredible ideas here, but they just don't go anywhere. Too disorganized. Cowell managed to be just as experimental but also sound beautiful, is that so much to ask?
Lol, yea you know lots about music. Like semi tones huh? Christian music isnt the only thing out there. Not only do you not know the first about music, but youre ethnocentric too! Youre prolly a racist and therefore, a pedophile too!!
wtf is this ? of course is not music cause it does'nt have concordance betwen their own notes ,who ever like this shit does"nt know nothing about music the people who like this gay are really crazy . bye .
@ddude081 good question, the idea is that cage intended it to be, if set up correctly, to be harmless to the strings or damaging the piano in anyway...agreed though, this is the most melodic of the piano sonatas i think its innovative and simultaneously very beautiful, which in 20th century music, is a rarity
I have to study sonatas 1 to 3 for my A level exam. Must say, I prefer this one to the 3 I have to study. Nice to know the piano can do much more than just play the notes as they are given.
Man, people can be stupid. I've got to remember not to look at the comments sections for Cage videos, I don't know what I'm expecting. For some reason I think reasonable people make enlightened comments sometimes, but it's all, "Cage sux 2 the max and he ruinz pian0z."
Amazing!!! this man is a perfect example of a realy open mind, art is the expresion of the spirit, if your spirit is free art is free, and its good... lo unico que nesesitas es aprender a "entenderlo", "try to understand", is the basic thing you need to apreciate this things, sorry for my very bad english.
the problem with all the negative comments here, is that the people who watch this, expects piano music. This is not stricly "piano" music, rather experimentation with sounds. I find it to have a nice harmony, soothing to listen to.
This music, like all of Cage's prepared piano music, isn't "outlandish" or anything like that imo. In a way, its a simple analogue synthesizer. Also, his sense of rhythm is impeccable, which is usually missed and glossed over by those who don't like Cage and are committed to pontificating about his work.
New timbres from a common instrument, ingenious I say.
I find it very interesting to try and imagine where music would be today if it weren't for Cage. So much of how we think about and interact with music has changed since the mid 20th Century and a lot of those changes have to do with work that Cage was involved in. And this applies to all music; both "artistic" and "commercial". Would we have Sonic Youth or the Pixies without Cage? Would we have Nirvana without them? How many artists cite Nirvana as being hugely influential now?
@exquisiteoath Most rock bands are heavily rooted in blues and jazz music, a movement that started in African American culture before and separately from John Cage's work- it's definitely still possible we'd have that music without John Cage.
@Tnova92 I don'r deny that a huge portion of Rock came from the African based blues tradition. As a guitarist I'm very familiar with that, but I don't think you can downplay the importance that a number of Western 20th Century composers had on the fringier elements of Rock, especially when we have 2 forms of proof; the first being the close musical inks between their ideas and his ideas, the second being that many artists have admitted to it. e.g. Radiohead and Penderecki.
I didn't think I was going to like this but I love it. I want this to be one of my recital pieces for school... I just hope they'll let me put what I need into our Steinway...
the whole point of Cage's music is that it is experimental-its not deisgned to be catchy or melodic it is meant to sound unlike anything else, which is what it acheives.
i can see the originality in putting nails in the piano, but why is there such a need for clashing chords etc? it is pointless. Why doesnt someone compose a piece that sounds nice but still has nails in it.
@g3org33r3 Well, you found the harmonies in this piece to be harsh, but I enjoyed them. Ultimately it is a subjective issue, so I can't say that your opinion about the chords is wrong. However, you won't be the first person to find music of your age to be disagreeable. A lot of people in the 19th century were horrified by Beethoven's music. Bach's early employers were often upset about his wild organ playing and use of strong dissonance (such as secondary leading tone chords).
I absolutely enjoy John Cage's music and philosophy, and this is an excellent performance. But it looks like that guy is about to do something nasty to himself at 3:02.
@joshbass2 From this statement I find that you are a presumptuous snob. You have NO idea what my musical tastes are or what I am into. Just because I have an opinion that differs from yours does not mean my mind is closed. That is immature and closed minded of YOU. The sound of clanking metal with very little tonality to it does nothing to arouse me. The majority of people feel the same way. Few people really enjoy atonal/abstract music, so think next time before you call someone boring.
I really really like this. But I am so afraid of trying to play this on my piano. All those screws in the strings make nervous. Can anyone tell me what this does to a piano?
Nothing really, if you prepare your piano the right way. Eg. Wear gloves so the salt and oils of your skin don't damage the strings. Inserting screws without stretching the strings is pretty easy. Just place the tip between the strings and screw it in. If you need to force it, don't do it. There are several articles and videos on how to do this that you can check out.
I don't get this.... I guess I am a dumbass if I say this piece sounds horrible to mine ear.. This is so far out, i can't relate to it AT ALL.. People whom actually are enjoying this, and claiming it to a masterpiece really do have a gift...
I'm sorry to say so, BUT to me this sound like an audio bootleg of John Cage having sex inside a broken piano...
@AdvocateToTheAccuser Strange is better than none.... I don't see you in the history books anyplace. Cage is what he is, you don't like him, don't look him up on youtube.
@AdvocateToTheAccuser Strange is better than none..I don't see you in the history books anyplace. Cage is what he is, you don't like him, don't look him up on youtube.
Why does music have to have anything to do with expression? As has been said, music is sound in time, or more accurately, organized sound in time. Cage famously said, "I have nothing to say and I am saying it."
I don't understand all the fuzz about this piece being "overly dissonant" or incomprehensible, when it's in fact very easy easy to listen to. John Cage basically used the familiarity of the sonata form to make our ears confortable and make us more apt to perceive his innovations on tone color and melodic fields. There's a very clear balance that makes the piece very enjoyable to listen to IMO.
Esta obra, a mi juicio, contiene la síntesis entre la nostalgia de lo pasado con lo incierto del futuro después de los hechos del s.XX. Dicho esto, es una obra que expresa vivamente nuestro presente. Hay q escucharla con mente abierta, fuera de prejuicios "anti-vanguardistas". Solo así se podrá comprender la obra maestra es.
@hobojoe722 anyone who says 'fail' on the internet or in irl has a acorn for a dick and a soft nubile butthole that was thoroughly pounded in highschool
i can't give any credibility to Cage or this sort of piece unless he did some REAL musical composition too. you cannot just make "experimental" or "abstract" art without first mastering traditional forms
@thesir27 Agreed, but then again he probably would of been a nobody if he just composed traditionally. Hes just using this alternate outlet to get artistic recognition when really he lacks the greater competence to create meaningful traditional pieces.
wow.... this just shows the continual degeneration of music! we've gone from the genius of beethoven, mozart, bach etc, to these fools who pick notes at random and call it music..... insanity I SAY! INSANITY!!
@savagesnephew yes!!!!! IMO this shit is actually on a lower level than rap or pop music because this is actually TRYING to put itself on a genius level
@savagesnephew Why do you feel the need to be so closed-minded and ignorant? People say the same of Schoenberg's music, but it is anything BUT random. Each pitch is planned just as much as, say, a Beethoven symphony. Schoenberg has the advantage of being mathematically perfect in his tone rows. If you think you can do better, i suggest you try.
What is "real" music? You are clearly a closeminded idiot if you think that John Cage wasn't a composer. He simply helped move the genre of art music along. He organized sound. That is all it means to compose "real music".
John Cage does this because he can. There are no rules that state music has to be purely baroque and follow all of the composers before the 20th century. This age is the age of modern music. 4'33" is a perfect example of how sounds of everyday life are covered because of what is written on a page. John Cage merely tries to open everyone's minds to accept what is not accepted. Think of this music not as trash but as modern in the age of electronic and serialistic tonality.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Can't we all just agree on this simple thing? To some, this sounds beautiful, to others, it sounds like crap. Enjoy what you enjoy.
Everybody below me is a pretentious snobby faggot that thinks listening to obscure and extremely bad music and going to intellectual parties is the way to go in life.
I bet you all have your wine glass next to you on your MAC computers eating organic foods as you write comments against me. You are all MORONIC SHITS.
to a certain extent though I would consider cage more of an abstract musical philosopher than a composer. What do you think? I believe he used his compositions as a means of expressing his concept of sound and art more than just a piece of music intended for listening but one intended to stimulate thought
@bafcats@wedontfollow exactly meant to play on a prepared piano. I watched, received an impression, and wrote down my opinion as everyone here does. So please, don't act like babies, i.e. telling me to go anywhere else or accusing me to be a trouble-maker just because you don't like what I have to say. If you want to discuss peacefully about the topic, I'm the first one to be happy, otherwise please, do not answer at all.
@bafcats@wedontfollow I perfectly agree about music as one of the greatest forms of expression (well, maybe because I'm a musician....mmhhh??), but the two of you are exactly what I hate most of the world of musicians: a deep incapacity of debating with someone who doesn't agree with your opinions. You just insult or attack, without triyng to build up a serene and constructive discussion which could enrich everyone. I watched this video because I was curious about Cage, and I wanted to see what
It was actually intended as a percussive piece expressing elements of nature and certain emotions which he didn't allocate to each piece but which have been allocated by those who've studied his work and thoughts behind his work. It's not the most pleasant thing to listen to but is that all music is? Whoever thought that a piano could make those sounds, sometimes he produces notes that altough not melodic or structured are intensely beautiful. Try not to just slate it cos it's not what you know.
@loofascraper You are so ignorant man, Do you honestly believe that john cage thought that? If you do i think you need to open your ears buddy and learn to become unbiased with music. Learn to value the compositional devices used by composers like cage. This is not listening music it's an idea.
@loofascraper Why on earth would i want to gain something from a youtube comment? that was me telling people like you to grow up and avoid posting about your frustrations with composers like cage...i don't see how i am supposed to gain anything from that? A brain washed fagot hey? i will put it any easier to understand terms then. Either grow the fuck up and learn to watch videos with out posting your negative and biased opinions or don't watch the video in the first place!
@loofascraper Okay, I just browsed through some of the comments here, and I'm sorry but you are an ignorant dick. For starters, art isn't about sensibility or accessibility, it's overall about expression and communication. This music, while unconventional (a good thing, in my view), is expression. And if it wasn't communicating, you wouldn't be ranting about how it's 'pure bullshit'. I'll admit that I'm not so into this either, but I at least respect that it IS music.
@loofascraper You will never open your mind for something new then? Pathetic. It is like you are only watching one thing and keep on watching that for your whole life. That is what I call blind. Close-minded fuck ups.
Hey man, I'm trying to open my mind to this, but it's really hard when all I hear is a piano defiled by nails and plastic pegs. Not only that, but this music makes no sense at all. Fucking admit it man, Cage and every contemporary composer had/have no ideas left, so they turn to nonsensical shit. Look up 4'33 and tell me that isn't pure bullshit.
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are tyring to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
A piano is not designed to be played like this. People are trying to improve things that don't need improving. A Grand Piano is an instrument that needs no alterations. It is brilliant they way it is. Adding screws and other items ruins the harmonic, dynamic and melodic possibilities that a piano was intended to realise. I have nothing against John Cage or any other composers of this style, but I dont see why a piano needs to be changed. Why cant they make their own 'prepared' instrument?
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are trying to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
I wouldn't say I was confined to a box. Most to the contrary in fact. I understand and appreciate that they are experimenting with the boundaries of a piano, however, wouldn't coming up with a completely new percussive instrument give the composer further flexibility in terms of composition? I wouldn't say that removing the chance for intricate harmonies and melodies is "expanding the vocabulary" of a piano. Your point is taken however, and I appreciate the reply.
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are tyring to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are trying to expand its vocabulary. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
Hey - to everyone who doesn't like the idea of prepared piano- in Doctor Who the noise the Tardis makes was done on prepared piano! they did this by puting over 150 screws into the piano and then sliding a ruler across the strings (but it is played backwards)
that piano sure is customized and prepared alright haha.. this modern chance music by john cage diverges sooo heavily from the flowing melodies and tempered pitches we are so accustomed to. I guess this guy just wanted change.
People are saying Cage wasn't a composer, please stop being so freaking pretentious. Was Liszt's music beautiful? Of course it was! That being said, John Cage is different than he is. Music by definition is nothing but the organization of sound and silence. That is all. It doesn't say anything about tonality. It doesn't say anything about meter. Merely some organization of sound and silence.
@ShevanelSaeglopur I have tried to have a similar discussion with one of my friends many times not specifically about this piece or even John Cage for that matter, however I was discussing why Avant-Garde Metal is just as much a respectable genre as any other, unfortunately, as yet I have never been able to come up with a reasoning as to why Music doesn't have to sound smooth or rhythmically correct just that he needs to open his mind and try to listen without judgement because he might enjoy
@ShevanelSaeglopur Lol, peoples says he isnt a composer? Igonre classicatards, they know shit about music listen to Aphex Twin and listen to his opinion, together whith, Merzbow, Mourioche, Lustmord, Etc.
@ShevanelSaeglopur I think you are the one who is pretentious, thinking those who don't percieve beauty in this piece as narrow and common. "New Music" resulted in some beatiful art and technology, and also some of the most awful noises ever made by mankind, as well as whole new orders of magnitude of snobbery.
@Envergure Please, do point out when I ever said anything about the beauty of the piece. The only person whose music I said was beautiful is Liszt. In fact, I never commented on whether or not I liked Cage's music. It could sound like horse shit to me for all you know. I was merely commenting to the people who claimed that it wasn't music, because it is by definition. I never called anyone "narrow" or "common" or anything close to that. Don't put words in my mouth and think before you type.
mistreat it...you mean like playing the same chopin pieces on it a million times?
there is a book on preparing pianos that explains how to avoid damage when making preparations...it is called "the well prepared piano" if anyone is interested
@psbjr There's a very, very subtle difference between "studying" on a piano (it means repeating "a million times", too, and sometimes the result is Pollini or Ashkenazy) and "alterating" the piano (it menans putting nails inside it and doing what we can see in this video, and the result is NEVER Pollini or Askhenazy). Thanks for the reference, I think my piano is perfectly right without any nails in it.
@Chopinina87 : The music is the aim, the piano is the way! It is an instrument created by man, it has no feelings, and it's not something really great or wonderfull, nor holly! If in destroying the piano (or even burning) it you can master new sounds, what's the point?! It's just a big piece of wood, man!!
@felixramosbledard The piano is form and substance. Music itself can change completely if the instrument changes, so mistreating it is mistreating music, and we should try to find new ways by studying alternative harmonic systems, not by researching non-existent sounds. No instrument, no music. Please, remember it.
@Chopinina87 The piano is a man-made instrument. Man made it. Men can alter it. It's not your piano, so why are you stressing out so much? Go watch something else on youtube. Don't get wrinkly shorts over such a thing.
@mahler151 Hear, there's a heartbreaking sound in the air. What is it?Mhhh...Oohhhhh....but....this is Mahler's ghost screaming!Please, change your name, or he'll haunt your dreams, tonight! :)
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Having had a look inside of a "prepared" piano I think it's nothing short of an act of vadalism but the piece does evoke emotion, usually hostility in my case!
Of course I appreciate rhythm, I just don't see the point in destroying a piano to do something you can do without a keyboard, stop being so bloody pretentious you lot!!!
the point is it enables a piano player to create a variety of new sounds on an instrument they are already familiar with, pretension has nothing to do with this.
@Rattywotin For the LAST time, he is NOT destroying the Piano by sticking screws in it!! It still plays like a Piano, it functions FINE once the screws are removed. no harm done!!
The act of ruining the piano can be seen as art. In the early seventies Cabaret Voltaire miked a piano and dismantled it with a large sledge hammer. The result has not been heard....
I don't think it makes any permanent change to the piano, so no. If it did, it still depends on what you consider "ruination". I would call it making a new instrument out of an old one.. The piano is not an object as much as it is a sum of smaller objects.
Know anything about the Sonatas? Cage learnt from Indian philosophy, the purpose of music was "to sober and quiet the mind", not to break traditions. He wanted to transform the "permanent emotions" into music.
What he wanted, was not just simply to destroy any traditions, but not to become enchained by traditions.
Do not become enchained by any fixed idea about how to play Cage and how not to play Cage. As Cage wrote: Get out of whatever cage you find yourself in.
stadlov 1 week ago in playlist Tim Ovens
come on! what's all these hands movements in the air?! these old romantic movements,like swinging clouds..
fuck! you are playing cage,man! you have to destroy all your romantic-way-of-playing-piano's memory you've learned at school!
if you want to interpretate cage you have to be coherent with his philosophy.
erase tradition,please.
you have to do it. if you don't,you are not playing a cage's piece.
antonvonwebern 1 week ago
There's tons of really incredible ideas here, but they just don't go anywhere. Too disorganized. Cowell managed to be just as experimental but also sound beautiful, is that so much to ask?
dasklavierleben 1 month ago
@thefullinlove
Lol, yea you know lots about music. Like semi tones huh? Christian music isnt the only thing out there. Not only do you not know the first about music, but youre ethnocentric too! Youre prolly a racist and therefore, a pedophile too!!
Heisenberg85 1 month ago
wtf is this ? of course is not music cause it does'nt have concordance betwen their own notes ,who ever like this shit does"nt know nothing about music the people who like this gay are really crazy . bye .
TheFullinlove 2 months ago
@TheFullinlove TROLL SPOTTED
ravenmek 2 months ago
@TheFullinlove Ah! Youtube's daily cultural comments.
vadesdecero 1 week ago
@ddude081 good question, the idea is that cage intended it to be, if set up correctly, to be harmless to the strings or damaging the piano in anyway...agreed though, this is the most melodic of the piano sonatas i think its innovative and simultaneously very beautiful, which in 20th century music, is a rarity
jratcliffe91 2 months ago
Just out of curiosity. Does this method of playing hurt the piano? Very cool sounds.
ddude081 3 months ago
I have to study sonatas 1 to 3 for my A level exam. Must say, I prefer this one to the 3 I have to study. Nice to know the piano can do much more than just play the notes as they are given.
TinselFairy 3 months ago
sounds like you were to play the song with a phone keypad
suena como si tocaras la cancion con el teclado de un telefono
jonavanhalen 4 months ago
Creo que los tornillos que pusieron en el piano son los que le faltan a Cage en el cerebro.
I think all screws they put on the piano are the ones Cage missed from his brain
rogerfrederic1 5 months ago
Roberto Benigni playing John Cage.
Lukeblueday 6 months ago
Man, people can be stupid. I've got to remember not to look at the comments sections for Cage videos, I don't know what I'm expecting. For some reason I think reasonable people make enlightened comments sometimes, but it's all, "Cage sux 2 the max and he ruinz pian0z."
AEFic 6 months ago 2
@AEFic
my personal fav has to be "what a cunt"
bravo!
d33pS3Ad1v3r 6 months ago 2
Amazing!!! this man is a perfect example of a realy open mind, art is the expresion of the spirit, if your spirit is free art is free, and its good... lo unico que nesesitas es aprender a "entenderlo", "try to understand", is the basic thing you need to apreciate this things, sorry for my very bad english.
drokums 7 months ago
Is there a method for the placement of the screws?
Valkyriefury 8 months ago
what a cunt
frazzlepuff 8 months ago
Like.
btmayo79 8 months ago
Beautiful.
TheWeirdPlant 9 months ago
roberto benigni :)
scham82 9 months ago
the problem with all the negative comments here, is that the people who watch this, expects piano music. This is not stricly "piano" music, rather experimentation with sounds. I find it to have a nice harmony, soothing to listen to.
jalle71002 9 months ago
This music, like all of Cage's prepared piano music, isn't "outlandish" or anything like that imo. In a way, its a simple analogue synthesizer. Also, his sense of rhythm is impeccable, which is usually missed and glossed over by those who don't like Cage and are committed to pontificating about his work.
New timbres from a common instrument, ingenious I say.
aperionproject 10 months ago 9
I bet no one ever listened to this for the second time.
fekundulo 10 months ago
@fekundulo hahaha i love that
LIGHTRONIX 10 months ago
when albert ayler said he was going to make music without key or time, everyone thought it was genius. Nothing different here.
travischron123 11 months ago
That dude has a huge dome
McLeod54 1 year ago 2
I find it very interesting to try and imagine where music would be today if it weren't for Cage. So much of how we think about and interact with music has changed since the mid 20th Century and a lot of those changes have to do with work that Cage was involved in. And this applies to all music; both "artistic" and "commercial". Would we have Sonic Youth or the Pixies without Cage? Would we have Nirvana without them? How many artists cite Nirvana as being hugely influential now?
exquisiteoath 1 year ago
@exquisiteoath Most rock bands are heavily rooted in blues and jazz music, a movement that started in African American culture before and separately from John Cage's work- it's definitely still possible we'd have that music without John Cage.
Tnova92 11 months ago
@Tnova92 I don'r deny that a huge portion of Rock came from the African based blues tradition. As a guitarist I'm very familiar with that, but I don't think you can downplay the importance that a number of Western 20th Century composers had on the fringier elements of Rock, especially when we have 2 forms of proof; the first being the close musical inks between their ideas and his ideas, the second being that many artists have admitted to it. e.g. Radiohead and Penderecki.
exquisiteoath 11 months ago
destroyed that poor piano. that piano would rather be touched by beiber
loranceb 1 year ago
I didn't think I was going to like this but I love it. I want this to be one of my recital pieces for school... I just hope they'll let me put what I need into our Steinway...
lithium3fun 1 year ago
i got in so much touble at school for sticking thumbtacks into all of the hammers of the piano before performing for an exam....... got a zero :(
John cage makes me feel vindicated.
dm7ify 1 year ago
@dm7ify Really? I would have thought it would be easy to reverse?
arrisfilms 1 year ago
so sad. What a story-telling piece.
anatolebroyard 1 year ago
I would class this as humour. And 4'33 as even sillier.
bighugejake 1 year ago
lol your still boring
joshbass2 1 year ago
My ears hurt :( Maybe using nails and stuff like that is a bit much? I think paper and leather would sound better.
drewlink99 1 year ago
Poor piano.. but it sounds cool
werq34ac 1 year ago
the whole point of Cage's music is that it is experimental-its not deisgned to be catchy or melodic it is meant to sound unlike anything else, which is what it acheives.
MrAlfred1995 1 year ago
its quite beautiful. and gives you an unexpected smile when a sweet note is turned into a split second "BEH!" of a muffled string. awesome =D
OneManPants13 1 year ago
Poor piano...
DaRQsiDe 1 year ago
i can see the originality in putting nails in the piano, but why is there such a need for clashing chords etc? it is pointless. Why doesnt someone compose a piece that sounds nice but still has nails in it.
g3org33r3 1 year ago
@g3org33r3 Check out "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin
Goomba4001 1 year ago
@g3org33r3 That question is the equivalent of asking why Bach used secondary leading tone chords.
b0ttomzone 1 year ago
@b0ttomzone Explain what you mean....
g3org33r3 1 year ago
@g3org33r3 Well, you found the harmonies in this piece to be harsh, but I enjoyed them. Ultimately it is a subjective issue, so I can't say that your opinion about the chords is wrong. However, you won't be the first person to find music of your age to be disagreeable. A lot of people in the 19th century were horrified by Beethoven's music. Bach's early employers were often upset about his wild organ playing and use of strong dissonance (such as secondary leading tone chords).
b0ttomzone 1 year ago
@g3org33r3 Because you're the one who's supposed to do that!
yamiko193 3 months ago
I absolutely enjoy John Cage's music and philosophy, and this is an excellent performance. But it looks like that guy is about to do something nasty to himself at 3:02.
Lugak14 1 year ago
Stößt an alle Grenzen des guten Geschmacks und hat absolut nichts mit Können zu tun, ausser den Stuss auswendig zu lernen und aufs Klavier zu hacken.
Das kann ich auch ohne Noten.
Klarer Fall von "Mag ich nicht!"
Cillitpeng 1 year ago
I really want to hear a more melodic piece written for prepared piano, I think it would be epic
andyanyd 1 year ago
@andyanyd Look at the work of Hauschka, it might be what you're going for.
GordonCSA 1 year ago
@GordonCSA YES! That is exactly what I wanted. Thanks!
andyanyd 1 year ago
i dig the last two minutes
droan999 1 year ago
Wow, boring an lacking musicality.
joeyisfunny 1 year ago
@joeyisfunny you's trollin
BlueTolerated 1 year ago
@joeyisfunny from this statement i find that you are boring and lacking In musicality,
"open your mind" you boring person
joshbass2 1 year ago
@joshbass2 From this statement I find that you are a presumptuous snob. You have NO idea what my musical tastes are or what I am into. Just because I have an opinion that differs from yours does not mean my mind is closed. That is immature and closed minded of YOU. The sound of clanking metal with very little tonality to it does nothing to arouse me. The majority of people feel the same way. Few people really enjoy atonal/abstract music, so think next time before you call someone boring.
joeyisfunny 1 year ago
3:15 ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz
zombiejingles01 1 year ago
random slow-mo at 1:20 lol
WelcomeToZomboCom 1 year ago
I really really like this. But I am so afraid of trying to play this on my piano. All those screws in the strings make nervous. Can anyone tell me what this does to a piano?
isayhi72 1 year ago
@isayhi72
Nothing really, if you prepare your piano the right way. Eg. Wear gloves so the salt and oils of your skin don't damage the strings. Inserting screws without stretching the strings is pretty easy. Just place the tip between the strings and screw it in. If you need to force it, don't do it. There are several articles and videos on how to do this that you can check out.
thorthesquirrelful 1 year ago
Wowh. This is beautifull.
zoranrosendahl 1 year ago
cool
chree2008 1 year ago
Prepared inastruments/music have been for millions of years since the invention of music peoples COULD ALLWAYS experiment so technically YES.
And prepared music/experimental is not crap, its unprepared unorignal music which is crap
MagnitudePerson 1 year ago
I think this is one of the more immediately "beautiful" sonatas in the set.
tempodimarcia 1 year ago
idiots
cnegrea 1 year ago
I prefer sonata I. However, i only know the first 3 sonatas, because im studying them for music A level
Leolmlr 1 year ago
This isn't dissonant. Eyehategod is dissonant.
That said, I love this!
MrVersipellis 1 year ago
I don't get this.... I guess I am a dumbass if I say this piece sounds horrible to mine ear.. This is so far out, i can't relate to it AT ALL.. People whom actually are enjoying this, and claiming it to a masterpiece really do have a gift...
I'm sorry to say so, BUT to me this sound like an audio bootleg of John Cage having sex inside a broken piano...
MartinGilmour 1 year ago
@MartinGilmour Hahah, don't feel bad. People who enjoy this don't have any special gift. They just have strange taste.
AdvocateToTheAccuser 1 year ago
@AdvocateToTheAccuser Strange is better than none.... I don't see you in the history books anyplace. Cage is what he is, you don't like him, don't look him up on youtube.
greenethump3 1 year ago
@AdvocateToTheAccuser Strange is better than none..I don't see you in the history books anyplace. Cage is what he is, you don't like him, don't look him up on youtube.
greenethump3 1 year ago
Why does music have to have anything to do with expression? As has been said, music is sound in time, or more accurately, organized sound in time. Cage famously said, "I have nothing to say and I am saying it."
jsundstrom2 1 year ago
this piece is beautiful :)
DarkZekeX 1 year ago
I don't understand all the fuzz about this piece being "overly dissonant" or incomprehensible, when it's in fact very easy easy to listen to. John Cage basically used the familiarity of the sonata form to make our ears confortable and make us more apt to perceive his innovations on tone color and melodic fields. There's a very clear balance that makes the piece very enjoyable to listen to IMO.
FelipeJacobS 1 year ago
I actually thought prepared piano pieces were crap. this is one of the good ones i think.
FreackZz 1 year ago
Surealism in music may bot be very pleasing to the ear, but it is so much fun to write. :P
ugtml123456789 1 year ago
Tim Ovens really doesn't do this piece justice... Throw Horowitz or Richter on this bitch and then who's fuckin it!!!
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
@hobojoe722 Gayfagot is Homo
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
Esta obra, a mi juicio, contiene la síntesis entre la nostalgia de lo pasado con lo incierto del futuro después de los hechos del s.XX. Dicho esto, es una obra que expresa vivamente nuestro presente. Hay q escucharla con mente abierta, fuera de prejuicios "anti-vanguardistas". Solo así se podrá comprender la obra maestra es.
chosetali 1 year ago
@hobojoe722 anyone who says 'fail' on the internet or in irl has a acorn for a dick and a soft nubile butthole that was thoroughly pounded in highschool
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
well that was dull....
Symbioticism 1 year ago
Beautiful . . .
The nay-sayers here are, musically, quite small.
Cage ignites our eternal friend, Silence, like no-one else.
With him you can swim in it, and actually have a good time.
These prepared piano pieces can perhaps be thought of more as a composition for percussion.... you hear a steel drum in there somewhere...
But the Piano is technically a percussion instrument anyway, so I've obviously said too much...
Jasoux 1 year ago
i can't give any credibility to Cage or this sort of piece unless he did some REAL musical composition too. you cannot just make "experimental" or "abstract" art without first mastering traditional forms
thesir27 1 year ago
@thesir27 Agreed, but then again he probably would of been a nobody if he just composed traditionally. Hes just using this alternate outlet to get artistic recognition when really he lacks the greater competence to create meaningful traditional pieces.
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
wow.... this just shows the continual degeneration of music! we've gone from the genius of beethoven, mozart, bach etc, to these fools who pick notes at random and call it music..... insanity I SAY! INSANITY!!
savagesnephew 1 year ago
@savagesnephew yes!!!!! IMO this shit is actually on a lower level than rap or pop music because this is actually TRYING to put itself on a genius level
thesir27 1 year ago
@savagesnephew Why do you feel the need to be so closed-minded and ignorant? People say the same of Schoenberg's music, but it is anything BUT random. Each pitch is planned just as much as, say, a Beethoven symphony. Schoenberg has the advantage of being mathematically perfect in his tone rows. If you think you can do better, i suggest you try.
LetItBe920 1 year ago
so imaginative song.
silverapple127 1 year ago
@dannycool321
What is "real" music? You are clearly a closeminded idiot if you think that John Cage wasn't a composer. He simply helped move the genre of art music along. He organized sound. That is all it means to compose "real music".
Look up "In A Landscape"
ShevanelSaeglopur 1 year ago
this sucks and all oriental spiritual philosophy is retarded...
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
@Gargantupimp So as you...
EdiEllerymissing 1 year ago
John Cage does this because he can. There are no rules that state music has to be purely baroque and follow all of the composers before the 20th century. This age is the age of modern music. 4'33" is a perfect example of how sounds of everyday life are covered because of what is written on a page. John Cage merely tries to open everyone's minds to accept what is not accepted. Think of this music not as trash but as modern in the age of electronic and serialistic tonality.
Mknight2059 1 year ago 45
serialistic atonality, haha. serialism is atonal is nature
SirFrone 1 year ago
@Mknight2059 lol@ calling 4'33'' music.
meddelhed 1 year ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Can't we all just agree on this simple thing? To some, this sounds beautiful, to others, it sounds like crap. Enjoy what you enjoy.
Simple as that.
LeonTheLegendary 1 year ago 15
I quiet like the atmosphere built up in this song.
eruseron 1 year ago
i999iiii990900ii999ijjooikiojkkiikiii9ooookk
vitovito1234 1 year ago
I'm know what he is doing, and I know who John Cage is. We talked about him in my music class, but don't unerstand how someone can listen to this!
piratequeen11 1 year ago
Everybody below me is a pretentious snobby faggot that thinks listening to obscure and extremely bad music and going to intellectual parties is the way to go in life.
I bet you all have your wine glass next to you on your MAC computers eating organic foods as you write comments against me. You are all MORONIC SHITS.
loofascraper 1 year ago
to a certain extent though I would consider cage more of an abstract musical philosopher than a composer. What do you think? I believe he used his compositions as a means of expressing his concept of sound and art more than just a piece of music intended for listening but one intended to stimulate thought
Dcomp29 1 year ago
@bafcats @wedontfollow exactly meant to play on a prepared piano. I watched, received an impression, and wrote down my opinion as everyone here does. So please, don't act like babies, i.e. telling me to go anywhere else or accusing me to be a trouble-maker just because you don't like what I have to say. If you want to discuss peacefully about the topic, I'm the first one to be happy, otherwise please, do not answer at all.
Chopinina87 1 year ago
@bafcats @wedontfollow I perfectly agree about music as one of the greatest forms of expression (well, maybe because I'm a musician....mmhhh??), but the two of you are exactly what I hate most of the world of musicians: a deep incapacity of debating with someone who doesn't agree with your opinions. You just insult or attack, without triyng to build up a serene and constructive discussion which could enrich everyone. I watched this video because I was curious about Cage, and I wanted to see what
Chopinina87 1 year ago
Wonderful. The piano as a starting point of the resource of sound. Every time has its art and every art has its own freedom!!!
llemllemllem 1 year ago
When I finished watching this I realized that the time was 4:33PM
fredsnicker 1 year ago 2
good one
liamshanley21 1 year ago
I like it.
tequilarose27 1 year ago
It was actually intended as a percussive piece expressing elements of nature and certain emotions which he didn't allocate to each piece but which have been allocated by those who've studied his work and thoughts behind his work. It's not the most pleasant thing to listen to but is that all music is? Whoever thought that a piano could make those sounds, sometimes he produces notes that altough not melodic or structured are intensely beautiful. Try not to just slate it cos it's not what you know.
BaltointheBlack 1 year ago
How is it that more morons know about the music of John Cage than intelligent people who actually know a sharp from a flat?
mahler151 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I have it figured out.
"Hey guys we're kinda running out of ideas so what should we do???"
"Let's make shitty music and call it contemporary!"
Thanks Contemporary faggots!
loofascraper 1 year ago
@loofascraper You are so ignorant man, Do you honestly believe that john cage thought that? If you do i think you need to open your ears buddy and learn to become unbiased with music. Learn to value the compositional devices used by composers like cage. This is not listening music it's an idea.
RaVe4EvR122 1 year ago
WELL JOHN CAGE SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT UP BETTER IDEAS
Honestly man you don't gain anything from this AT ALL, you just look like a brainwashed faggot.
loofascraper 1 year ago
@loofascraper Why on earth would i want to gain something from a youtube comment? that was me telling people like you to grow up and avoid posting about your frustrations with composers like cage...i don't see how i am supposed to gain anything from that? A brain washed fagot hey? i will put it any easier to understand terms then. Either grow the fuck up and learn to watch videos with out posting your negative and biased opinions or don't watch the video in the first place!
RaVe4EvR122 1 year ago
@RaVe4EvR122 Thanks for making me win the argument. It's a better choice than listening to john cage.
loofascraper 1 year ago
@loofascraper Okay, I just browsed through some of the comments here, and I'm sorry but you are an ignorant dick. For starters, art isn't about sensibility or accessibility, it's overall about expression and communication. This music, while unconventional (a good thing, in my view), is expression. And if it wasn't communicating, you wouldn't be ranting about how it's 'pure bullshit'. I'll admit that I'm not so into this either, but I at least respect that it IS music.
HoodedSword 1 year ago
@loofascraper And again, I say to you, and many other people... Blind patheticly man
xxXDamnationXxx 1 year ago
Thanks man, I'd rather be blind than be able to see into this heaping pile of shit you call "UNIQUE AND AMAZING"
loofascraper 1 year ago
@loofascraper You will never open your mind for something new then? Pathetic. It is like you are only watching one thing and keep on watching that for your whole life. That is what I call blind. Close-minded fuck ups.
xxXDamnationXxx 1 year ago
Hey man, I'm trying to open my mind to this, but it's really hard when all I hear is a piano defiled by nails and plastic pegs. Not only that, but this music makes no sense at all. Fucking admit it man, Cage and every contemporary composer had/have no ideas left, so they turn to nonsensical shit. Look up 4'33 and tell me that isn't pure bullshit.
loofascraper 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are tyring to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
Skunkin7777 1 year ago
A piano is not designed to be played like this. People are trying to improve things that don't need improving. A Grand Piano is an instrument that needs no alterations. It is brilliant they way it is. Adding screws and other items ruins the harmonic, dynamic and melodic possibilities that a piano was intended to realise. I have nothing against John Cage or any other composers of this style, but I dont see why a piano needs to be changed. Why cant they make their own 'prepared' instrument?
MusicGuru12 1 year ago
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are trying to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
Skunkin7777 1 year ago 3
@Skunkin7777
I wouldn't say I was confined to a box. Most to the contrary in fact. I understand and appreciate that they are experimenting with the boundaries of a piano, however, wouldn't coming up with a completely new percussive instrument give the composer further flexibility in terms of composition? I wouldn't say that removing the chance for intricate harmonies and melodies is "expanding the vocabulary" of a piano. Your point is taken however, and I appreciate the reply.
MusicGuru12 1 year ago
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are tyring to expand the vocabulary of it. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
Skunkin7777 1 year ago
@MusicGuru12 You are right, the piano was not designed to be played like this. But what you can't seem to be able to wrap your head around is that composers like John Cage aren't trying to make the piano better. They are trying to expand its vocabulary. They are exploring. That is all. They don't intend this to be the "new way of playing", its merely them experimenting to see what the piano can do. They are pushing boundaries. People who are confined to a box will never understand this.
Skunkin7777 1 year ago
Hey - to everyone who doesn't like the idea of prepared piano- in Doctor Who the noise the Tardis makes was done on prepared piano! they did this by puting over 150 screws into the piano and then sliding a ruler across the strings (but it is played backwards)
al411000 1 year ago
THIS IS RETARDED! =o=! ceriously john cage is mentaly draining and ceriously he has no musical tellent...
rabidgunfight 1 year ago
it could harm the piano if the person putting the nails in it was not caerful
sarahrocksyoursockss 1 year ago
that piano sure is customized and prepared alright haha.. this modern chance music by john cage diverges sooo heavily from the flowing melodies and tempered pitches we are so accustomed to. I guess this guy just wanted change.
PokeWizKev826 1 year ago
People are saying Cage wasn't a composer, please stop being so freaking pretentious. Was Liszt's music beautiful? Of course it was! That being said, John Cage is different than he is. Music by definition is nothing but the organization of sound and silence. That is all. It doesn't say anything about tonality. It doesn't say anything about meter. Merely some organization of sound and silence.
Did Cage organize sounds?
Then who are you to say he isn't a composer?
ShevanelSaeglopur 1 year ago 34
Dosnt mean its good music... it sucks
rabidgunfight 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur Some may and do argue that he is more a philosopher than a musician, however.
ABombs1 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur
See I would label some of his stuff as less like music and more like sonic art.
thepartychicken 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur he wasnt if i cant write 'real' music!
dannycool321 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur
CHEERS!
sixstringking6 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur if you think people dont understand Cage now imagine back in his time lol Hes brilliant if you ask me
richman117 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur I have tried to have a similar discussion with one of my friends many times not specifically about this piece or even John Cage for that matter, however I was discussing why Avant-Garde Metal is just as much a respectable genre as any other, unfortunately, as yet I have never been able to come up with a reasoning as to why Music doesn't have to sound smooth or rhythmically correct just that he needs to open his mind and try to listen without judgement because he might enjoy
ViralHeretic 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur Lol, peoples says he isnt a composer? Igonre classicatards, they know shit about music listen to Aphex Twin and listen to his opinion, together whith, Merzbow, Mourioche, Lustmord, Etc.
MagnitudePerson 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur
you're sounding pretty pretentious yourself
loofascraper 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur I think you are the one who is pretentious, thinking those who don't percieve beauty in this piece as narrow and common. "New Music" resulted in some beatiful art and technology, and also some of the most awful noises ever made by mankind, as well as whole new orders of magnitude of snobbery.
Envergure 1 year ago
@Envergure Please, do point out when I ever said anything about the beauty of the piece. The only person whose music I said was beautiful is Liszt. In fact, I never commented on whether or not I liked Cage's music. It could sound like horse shit to me for all you know. I was merely commenting to the people who claimed that it wasn't music, because it is by definition. I never called anyone "narrow" or "common" or anything close to that. Don't put words in my mouth and think before you type.
ShevanelSaeglopur 1 year ago
@ShevanelSaeglopur
Appologies, my attitude got the better of me. It was a stupid comment.
Envergure 1 year ago
@Envergure It's perfectly fine, man.
ShevanelSaeglopur 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
The piano's suffering, and I'm suffering with it...really, but really horrible. Do whatever you like, but please do not mistreat the piano.
Chopinina87 2 years ago
mistreat it...you mean like playing the same chopin pieces on it a million times?
there is a book on preparing pianos that explains how to avoid damage when making preparations...it is called "the well prepared piano" if anyone is interested
psbjr 1 year ago
@psbjr There's a very, very subtle difference between "studying" on a piano (it means repeating "a million times", too, and sometimes the result is Pollini or Ashkenazy) and "alterating" the piano (it menans putting nails inside it and doing what we can see in this video, and the result is NEVER Pollini or Askhenazy). Thanks for the reference, I think my piano is perfectly right without any nails in it.
Chopinina87 1 year ago
@Chopinina87 "alterating" is not a word. If you're going to be pretentious, please use proper grammar and semantics.
wedontfollow 1 year ago
@Chopinina87 : The music is the aim, the piano is the way! It is an instrument created by man, it has no feelings, and it's not something really great or wonderfull, nor holly! If in destroying the piano (or even burning) it you can master new sounds, what's the point?! It's just a big piece of wood, man!!
felixramosbledard 1 year ago
@felixramosbledard The piano is form and substance. Music itself can change completely if the instrument changes, so mistreating it is mistreating music, and we should try to find new ways by studying alternative harmonic systems, not by researching non-existent sounds. No instrument, no music. Please, remember it.
Chopinina87 1 year ago
@Chopinina87 The piano is a man-made instrument. Man made it. Men can alter it. It's not your piano, so why are you stressing out so much? Go watch something else on youtube. Don't get wrinkly shorts over such a thing.
wedontfollow 1 year ago 39
You're a disgrace to the name Chopin.
mahler151 1 year ago
@mahler151 Hear, there's a heartbreaking sound in the air. What is it?Mhhh...Oohhhhh....but....this is Mahler's ghost screaming!Please, change your name, or he'll haunt your dreams, tonight! :)
Chopinina87 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Having had a look inside of a "prepared" piano I think it's nothing short of an act of vadalism but the piece does evoke emotion, usually hostility in my case!
Rattywotin 2 years ago
As someone that enjoys music as much as yourself, surely, you can appreciate the full spectrum of sounds? I guess not. :<
Hosaka 2 years ago 2
the full spectrum I do0 appreciate, its the lack of tonality I have a peroblem with!
Rattywotin 2 years ago
@Rattywotin then you don't appreciate rhythm?
leakeg 1 year ago
Of course I appreciate rhythm, I just don't see the point in destroying a piano to do something you can do without a keyboard, stop being so bloody pretentious you lot!!!
Rattywotin 1 year ago
the point is it enables a piano player to create a variety of new sounds on an instrument they are already familiar with, pretension has nothing to do with this.
leakeg 1 year ago
@Rattywotin For the LAST time, he is NOT destroying the Piano by sticking screws in it!! It still plays like a Piano, it functions FINE once the screws are removed. no harm done!!
mahler151 1 year ago
You're an idiot.
mahler151 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
yeah I know you'll spam but whatever JOHN CAGE IS A FUCKING JERK SON OF A BITCH WHO DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE A SINGLE DECENT PIECE OF MUSIC
richclayderman 2 years ago
And Richard Clayderman was a genious in your point of wiev? :) Hilarious...
s02r 2 years ago 2
no he's just a good pianist, Liszt was a genious (and a composer), certainly, Cage wasn't neither.
richclayderman 2 years ago
Wow.
mahler151 2 years ago
cage wasn't neither....i have to agree haha
psbjr 1 year ago
@richclayderman then you really haven't listened friend.
dickbiznus123 2 years ago
This is so hauntingly beautiful.
TearInTheirHands 2 years ago
fore me is the first ambient melody its great ...can youse to some horror or sth ..
princeofunivers 2 years ago
The act of ruining the piano can be seen as art. In the early seventies Cabaret Voltaire miked a piano and dismantled it with a large sledge hammer. The result has not been heard....
noizy4 2 years ago
second 0:41 sounds like ERROR
Vyndesskays 2 years ago 5
doesnt that ruin the piano?
shiftup 2 years ago
no, it prepares it.
andrew11235 2 years ago 11
LOL
CROIXMOIX 2 years ago
prepares it for ruination?
shiftup 2 years ago 4
I don't think it makes any permanent change to the piano, so no. If it did, it still depends on what you consider "ruination". I would call it making a new instrument out of an old one.. The piano is not an object as much as it is a sum of smaller objects.
andrew11235 2 years ago