John Cage

slow_d, Oct 25, 2005

It is worth noting that Cage's famously note-less 4'33" was not meant to deliver actual silence to the audience, but instead to draw attention to the additional sounds that invariably surround anyone listening to any music at any time. In a performance hall, this would include traffic outside, the building's ventilaiton system, coughing and stirring of audience members, etc.

As Cage himself commented, “There is no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound.” To the extent that we use Brian Eno's original definition of "ambient" music as low-volume audio to enhance someone's perception of their surroundings, 4'33" could be seen as an ultimately 'ambient' composition.

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