What silence can teach you about sound
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0:02 - 0:05For many of us right now,
our lives are quieter than normal. -
0:06 - 0:08And quiet can be unnerving.
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0:09 - 0:10It can make you feel lonely,
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0:10 - 0:14or just all too aware
of the things you're missing out on. -
0:14 - 0:17I think about sound all the time.
-
0:17 - 0:18I'm a sound designer,
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0:18 - 0:20and I host the podcast
"Twenty Thousand Hertz." -
0:21 - 0:25It's all about the world's most
recognizable and interesting sounds. -
0:25 - 0:29But I think this is the perfect time
to talk about silence. -
0:29 - 0:31Because what I've come to understand
-
0:31 - 0:35is that there is no such thing as silence.
-
0:35 - 0:38And the person who opened
my mind to this idea -
0:38 - 0:41is one of the most influential
composers in history. -
0:41 - 0:43(Piano music)
-
0:43 - 0:47John Cage has made an impact
on artists in many genres, -
0:47 - 0:51from avant-garde musicians,
to modern dance, to pop music. -
0:51 - 0:53Right now, we're listening
to his 1948 piece -
0:53 - 0:55called "In a Landscape."
-
0:55 - 0:58This version was recorded in 1994
by Stephen Drury. -
0:58 - 1:05(Piano music)
-
1:05 - 1:09This piece is actually not very typical
of John Cage's writing. -
1:09 - 1:12He's more known for his innovations
and avant-garde techniques. -
1:12 - 1:14But despite his reputation,
-
1:14 - 1:19no one was prepared
for what he did in 1952, -
1:19 - 1:22when he created the most daring
piece of his career. -
1:23 - 1:26It was called "4'33'',"
-
1:26 - 1:31and it was a piece that some critics
even refused to call "music," -
1:31 - 1:34because for the entire
duration of the piece, -
1:34 - 1:35the performer plays
-
1:36 - 1:37nothing at all.
-
1:38 - 1:42Well, to be technical,
the performer is actually playing rest. -
1:42 - 1:45But to the audience,
it looks like nothing is happening. -
1:46 - 1:48John Cage's "4'33''"
was performed for the first time -
1:48 - 1:50in the summer of 1952,
-
1:50 - 1:52by renowned pianist David Tudor.
-
1:53 - 1:56It was at the Maverick Concert hall
in Woodstock, New York. -
1:56 - 2:00This is a beautiful wooden building
with huge openings to the outdoors. -
2:00 - 2:02So, David Tudor walked out on stage,
-
2:02 - 2:03sat down at the piano,
-
2:04 - 2:05then closed the piano lid.
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2:06 - 2:07He then sat in silence,
-
2:07 - 2:10only moving to open
and close the piano lid -
2:10 - 2:12between each of the three movements.
-
2:12 - 2:14After the time was up,
-
2:14 - 2:15he got up
-
2:15 - 2:17and walked off the stage.
-
2:18 - 2:19(Piano music)
-
2:19 - 2:22The audience had no idea what to think.
-
2:22 - 2:26It made people wonder if Cage
is even taking his career seriously. -
2:26 - 2:28A close friend even wrote to him,
-
2:28 - 2:31begging that he not turn
his career into a joke. -
2:31 - 2:34John Cage had, well, if you could call it,
-
2:34 - 2:35composed a piece of music
-
2:35 - 2:39that really challenged
some very established ideas -
2:39 - 2:40about music composition.
-
2:40 - 2:43It's something that musicians
still debate today. -
2:44 - 2:47To understand just what
John Cage was thinking, -
2:47 - 2:49let's back up to the 1940s.
-
2:49 - 2:50Back then,
-
2:50 - 2:54John Cage was making a name for himself
composing for the prepared piano. -
2:54 - 2:55(Piano music)
-
2:55 - 2:56To make music like this,
-
2:56 - 2:59John Cage would put objects
inside the piano, -
2:59 - 3:00between the strings.
-
3:01 - 3:02Things you just find lying around,
-
3:02 - 3:06like screws, tape and rubber erasers.
-
3:06 - 3:08So now, you've transformed the piano
-
3:08 - 3:11from a tonal instrument
with high and low pitches -
3:11 - 3:13into a collection of unique sounds.
-
3:14 - 3:17The music you're hearing
is Cage's "Sonata V," -
3:17 - 3:19from "Sonatas and Interludes
for Prepared Piano." -
3:19 - 3:22Probably his most famous work
outside of "4'33''." -
3:23 - 3:25This version was performed
by Boris Berman. -
3:26 - 3:29John Cage wrote incredibly
detailed instructions -
3:29 - 3:32about where to place
each object in the piano. -
3:32 - 3:36But it's impossible for every performer
to get the exact same objects, -
3:36 - 3:38so the sound you get is always different.
-
3:38 - 3:41Basically, it comes down to random chance.
-
3:41 - 3:44This was pretty bananas and pretty alien
-
3:44 - 3:48to the way most composers and musicians
are taught to do things. -
3:49 - 3:51John Cage was becoming
increasingly interested -
3:51 - 3:54in chance and randomness
-
3:54 - 3:56and letting the universe
provide the answer to the question -
3:57 - 3:59"What note should I play next?"
-
3:59 - 4:01But to hear the answer to the question,
-
4:01 - 4:03first, you have to listen.
-
4:04 - 4:05And in the 1940s,
-
4:05 - 4:08listening to the universe
was getting harder to do. -
4:08 - 4:10(Elevator music)
-
4:10 - 4:13The Muzak company was founded in the '30s.
-
4:13 - 4:14It really took off,
-
4:14 - 4:17and soon, there was constant
background music nearly everywhere. -
4:18 - 4:20It was almost impossible to escape.
-
4:21 - 4:24John Cage realized
that people were losing the option -
4:24 - 4:26to shut out the background
music of the world. -
4:26 - 4:30He worried that Muzak would prevent people
from hearing silence altogether. -
4:31 - 4:33In 1948,
-
4:33 - 4:35four years before he wrote "4'33'',"
-
4:35 - 4:37John Cage mentioned
that he wanted to write -
4:38 - 4:40a four-and-a-half-minute-long
piece of silence -
4:40 - 4:42and sell it to the Muzak company.
-
4:42 - 4:45It started as something
of a political statement -
4:45 - 4:47or an offhand comment,
-
4:47 - 4:50but this idea struck a nerve
and quickly evolved. -
4:50 - 4:53John Cage was starting to think
deeply about silence. -
4:54 - 4:57And when he visited a truly quiet place,
-
4:57 - 4:59he made a startling discovery.
-
5:00 - 5:04John Cage visited an anechoic chamber
at Harvard University. -
5:04 - 5:07Anechoic chambers are rooms
that are acoustically treated -
5:07 - 5:10to minimize sound to almost zero.
-
5:10 - 5:12There are no sounds in these rooms,
-
5:12 - 5:15so John Cage didn't expect
to hear anything at all. -
5:15 - 5:18But he actually heard
his own blood circulating. -
5:18 - 5:20(Pulse)
-
5:20 - 5:22I've personally experienced
an anechoic chamber, -
5:22 - 5:24and it's a really wild experience
-
5:24 - 5:26that can completely change
your perceptions -
5:26 - 5:29about sound and silence.
-
5:29 - 5:32It really felt like my brain
just turning up an amplifier, -
5:32 - 5:34grasping for anything to hear.
-
5:35 - 5:36Just like John Cage,
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5:36 - 5:40I could very clearly hear my blood
pushing through my body. -
5:40 - 5:42John Cage realized, in that moment,
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5:42 - 5:46that no matter where we are,
even our bodies are making sound. -
5:47 - 5:51There's basically no such thing
as true silence. -
5:51 - 5:53As long as you are in your body,
-
5:53 - 5:55you're always hearing something.
-
5:56 - 5:59This is where John Cage's interest
in chance and randomness -
5:59 - 6:01met his interest in silence.
-
6:01 - 6:05He realized that creating an environment
with no distractions -
6:05 - 6:07wasn't about creating silence.
-
6:07 - 6:10It wasn't even about controlling noise.
-
6:10 - 6:13It was about the sounds
that were already there, -
6:13 - 6:16but you suddenly hear for the first time
-
6:16 - 6:18when you're really ready to listen.
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6:19 - 6:22That's what's so often
misunderstood about "4'33''." -
6:22 - 6:24People assume it's a joke,
-
6:24 - 6:27but that couldn't be further
from the truth. -
6:27 - 6:29It sounds different
everywhere you play it. -
6:29 - 6:31And that's the point.
-
6:31 - 6:34What John Cage really wanted us to hear
-
6:34 - 6:37is the beauty of the sonic
world around us. -
6:37 - 6:40(Birds chirping)
-
6:41 - 6:45(Overlapping voices)
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6:45 - 6:49(Church bell ringing)
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6:49 - 6:53(Crickets chirping and owl hooting)
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6:54 - 6:56"4'33''" should be a mindful experience
-
6:56 - 7:00that helps you focus on accepting things
just the way they are. -
7:01 - 7:05It's not something that anyone else
can tell you how you're supposed to feel. -
7:05 - 7:06It's deeply personal.
-
7:07 - 7:09It also brings up
some pretty big questions -
7:09 - 7:11about our sonic world.
-
7:11 - 7:13Is "4'33''" music, is it sound,
-
7:13 - 7:15is sound music?
-
7:15 - 7:17Is there even a difference?
-
7:17 - 7:18John Cage reminds us
-
7:19 - 7:22that music isn't the only kind of sound
worth listening to. -
7:23 - 7:25All sounds are worth thinking about.
-
7:25 - 7:28We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
-
7:28 - 7:30to reset our ears.
-
7:30 - 7:33And if we become more conscious
of what we hear, -
7:33 - 7:35we'll inherently make
our world sound better. -
7:36 - 7:40Quietness is not when we turn off
our minds to sound, -
7:41 - 7:43but when we can really start to listen
-
7:43 - 7:46and hear the world
in all of its sonic beauty. -
7:46 - 7:48So in this spirit,
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7:48 - 7:50let's perform "4'33''" together,
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7:50 - 7:52wherever you are.
-
7:52 - 7:53It's three movements,
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7:53 - 7:55and I'll let you know when they start.
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7:55 - 7:59Listen to the texture and rhythm
of the sounds around you right now. -
7:59 - 8:01Listen for the loud and soft,
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8:01 - 8:02the harmonic, the dissonant,
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8:03 - 8:06and all the small details
that make every sound unique. -
8:07 - 8:12Spend this time as mindful and focused
in this real-life sonic moment. -
8:12 - 8:16Enjoy the magnificence
of hearing and listening. -
8:16 - 8:18So here comes the first movement.
-
8:18 - 8:20Starting ...
-
8:20 - 8:21now.
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8:21 - 8:22[I. Tacet]
-
8:22 - 8:23(No audio)
-
8:50 - 8:52And here's movement two.
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8:52 - 8:54It will be two minutes and 23 seconds.
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8:55 - 8:56[II. Tacet]
-
8:56 - 8:57(No audio)
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11:18 - 11:20And here is the final movement.
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11:20 - 11:22It will be one minute and 40 seconds.
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11:23 - 11:24[III. Tacet]
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11:24 - 11:25(No audio)
-
13:03 - 13:04And that's it.
-
13:04 - 13:06We did it.
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13:06 - 13:08Thanks for listening.
- Title:
- What silence can teach you about sound
- Speaker:
- Dallas Taylor
- Description:
-
What can you hear in silence? In this exploration of sound, host of the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz" Dallas Taylor tells the story of arguably the most debated musical composition in recent history -- composer John Cage's iconic piece 4'33" -- and invites you to take notice of the soundscape around you. Watch to the end to experience a performance of 4'33''.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:22
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What silence can teach you about sound |