Aspects of Zen Buddhism as an Analytical Context for John Cage's Chance Music
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14810528 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rob Haskins (Haskins Laboratories, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 5-6 |
| Pages | 616-629 |
| Publication date | 2014-11-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Music Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0749-4467 • E-ISSN: 1477-2256 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/07494467.2014.998426 |
| OpenAlex | W1991199398 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
The writings of Cage's acknowledged mentor in Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki, reveal a more complex picture of Zen than Cage himself tended to describe. This essay considers several of these writings in order to articulate an approach to listening and analysis based in Zen, which is then used to explore two compositions with very different sonic profiles, Music for Piano 21 (1955) and One5 (1990). My findings suggest a wide range of audible relationships in Cage's music as well as an ethical dimension to analysis related to Joan Retallack's concept of poethics.Keywords: D.T. SuzukiJohn CageAnalysisZen BuddhismPoethicsOne5Music for Piano Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes[1] See Blyth (Citation1949) and Watts (Citation1948). Cage appropriated a key passage from Watts's text in his own 'Lecture on Nothing'; see Haskins (Citation2012, pp. 58–59). Cage also later cited Beckett, Citation1955.[2] For a more detailed history of Cage's interactions with Buddhism generally and D. T. Suzuki in particular, see Larson (Citation2012). I consider Morris's realization of Buddhist principles in his piano piece Still (1990) in contrast to Cage's Music for Piano 21 in Haskins (Citation2014).[3] Suzuki (Citation1972, pp. 49 and 51) (my emphasis); the original edition was published by Rider in 1949.[4] For more on the so-called point-drawing system employed in this work, see Pritchett (Citation1993, pp. 92–95). Cage adapted this system on many occasions throughout his career, for instance in the Freeman Etudes (1977–1980/1989–1990), where tracings of star maps and chance operations determined, for instance, precise durations, dynamics, and whether a traced note would include additional tones to form double, triple, or quadruple stops.[5] Cage's instructions also allow for the piece to be played by itself or in combination with others; for the sake of simplicity, I consider the single piece on its own.[6] Joan Retallack, 'Conversations in Retrospect', in Cage and Retallack (Citation1996, p. xxv), Retallack (Citation1994, p. 255), and Dewey (Citation1934).[7] Cage, 'Experimental music: Doctrine', in Cage (Citation1961, p. 15)
Active listening · Art · Art history · Buddhism · Cage · Epistemology · Humanities · John Cage · Musical · Nothing · Performance art · Piano · Theology · Visual arts · Communication · History · Mathematics · Music Technology and Sound Studies · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |