Prologue: What do we listen to in music without sound?
| Text: mmr | Theme: After John Cage’s ``4 minutes and 33 seconds,’’ silence became another aspect of music.What is listening?Considering the reconstruction of the relationship between humans and the world as told by music without sound |
When John Cage’s ``4’33’’ premiered in New York in 1952, audiences were perplexed and agitated. The pianist doesn’t play a single note.However, the venue was filled with sounds: coughs, chairs creaking, and the wind outside. At that moment, it became clear that music is not just composed sounds, but the act of listening itself.
Cage speaks.”There is no silence. Everything is sound.” This philosophy greatly expanded the realm of music and was passed on to 21st century sound art, field recording, and ambient music.
Chapter 1: What is listening to sound? — Listening as sensory retraining
We do too much “unconscious listening” in our daily lives. Smartphone notification sounds, subway announcements, street noises. They recede into the background of consciousness and become just a piece of information.
However, Cage and the composers of musique concrète encouraged us to practice rediscovering listening. Listening is an act of renewing one’s relationship with the world, It is an attitude of accepting ``the sounds that already exist’’ rather than choosing a sound.
This attitude would later be carried over to Brian Eno’s ambient music. he speaks.``Ambient music is music that exists with the environment, even if you don’t consciously listen to it.’’
Chapter 2: Genealogy of Silence — From Cage to Contemporary Sound Art
After Cage, “silence” became a kind of musical material. Below is a chronology showing its genealogy.
In this trend, silence has been treated not as a “blank space” but as a “possibility.” In other words, when the act of listening becomes a theme, music transcends its framework.**
Chapter 3: Music as environment — the birth of soundscapes
In the late 1960s, Canadian composer R. Marie Schaefer proposed the concept of “soundscape.” This was an attempt to understand sound as part of society, culture, and the natural environment.
“We live in a landscape of sound. To listen is to understand the environment.”
The hustle and bustle of the city, the rustling of the forest, the babbling of the river—recording and editing them became a musical act in itself. This idea continues in today’s field recording culture and artists who incorporate environmental sounds (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Chris Watson, etc.).
Chapter 4: Ethics of Silence — Empathy brought about by “listening”
The act of listening is not just a sensation. It is also an ethical attitude of being open to others.
In the field of music therapy, listening to sounds'' is often combined withaccepting others’’ training.
Sociologist James Calhoun also points out that ``silence in public spaces is disappearing.’’
Constantly playing background music, constant flow of information.
Have we become afraid of “time without sound”?
Recovering silence also means regaining the ability to listen to music.
Chapter 5: Silence in the Digital Age — Amidst the Sea of Noise
What Spotify and YouTube offer is “chosen silence.” For example, the “Lo-Fi Chill” and “Focus” playlists are filled with “sounds” meant to create silence. Paradoxically, there is a consumption of production of tranquility.
On the other hand, AI music generation technology continues to produce infinite sounds. Among these, what listeners may be looking for is a ``moment without sound.’’ In other words, the value of silence in an age of digital saturation is resurfacing.
Illustration: The structure of listening — the balance between sound and silence
As this diagram shows, ``listening’’ is not a passive act, but a creative act. Silence functions not as a space for playing music, but as a space for thinking and empathy.
Conclusion: The Future of Silence — Toward a Politics of Listening
Silence will likely become a new form of resistance in future music culture. Information overload, instant pleasure, and algorithmic music selection. In this context, listening becomes a kind of slow listening exercise.
When we regain the verb “listen,” Music once again connects us with the world.
Reference chronology: Expansion of the philosophy of silence and sound
| Year | Events | Main people |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 《4:33》 Premiere | John Cage |
| 1967 | “Soundwalk” concept proposed | Max Newhouse |
| 1977 | “Tuning of the World” Publishing | R. Marie Schaefer |
| 1982 | The Rise of Ambient Music | Brian Eno |
| 2000s | Expansion of field recording culture | Chris Watson, Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 2020s | Re-valuing “silence” with AI-generated music | Sound artists from various countries |
