<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Re: [CAUT] John Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again"</= TITLE></HEAD> <BODY style="BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER= -LEFT-STYLE: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none"> I like the concept of "found sound", i.e. the sound something makes = in itself...hitting it, plucking it, whatever.   I've seen se= veral bands made up of new instruments...kitchen sink gongs...some amaz= ing sounds.   Put that together with a score and it IS music.=    There was a time I couldn't stand John Cage but I'm findin= g myself getting more open to trying things for what they are... I'm less impressed with artists throwning paint at a canvas and call= ing that art, ala Pollock but I'll probably come around to that also...= ;-] David I. <DIV style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5p= x; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 3px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px"> <HR> Original message From: "Fred Sturm" <FSSTURM@UNM.EDU> To: caut <C= AUT@PTG.ORG> Received: 10/5/2005 5:58:48 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] J= ohn Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again" On 10/5/05 11:36 AM, "Jeff Tanner"= <jtanner@mozart.sc.edu> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> Question is this:  the instru= ctions give exact distance from the damper to place the screws, bolts, = etc.  How much does piano make and model affect what Cage was afte= r?  (I mean, really, was there really a method to his madness? or = was this guy just really doing some serious d-basing?)  When he sa= ys "bamboo", is it a "slice" of large bamboo or a "tube" of smaller dia= meter bamboo (like what he was using to snort coke? maybe a doobie hold= er?)?  green or dried?  and what is usually used for the "pla= stic" weaved around the low A, Bb, and B?  Drink straw maybe? (see= snort) No. I'm sorry. I just can't take this music form serious= ly.  But some people want to give it merit. Jeff </F= ONT></BLOCKQUOTE> Hi Jeff,   &nbsp= ; Cage can be a bit of a puzzle. Sorry, I don’t know the specifi= c piece in question. Usually the instructions say “approximate distan= ce from dampers.” (Sometimes they just say what note). To be “Cagea= n” about it, try it out and see what it sounds like. Then shift it a = bit and see what that sounds like. Have an open mind and ear, and make = a decision based on what works. Yes, of course the make/model/scale (mo= stly length) will have an effect – where along the string the object = is, what overtones are enhanced/suppressed. I suspect Cage worked at hi= s own piano, which I guess would have been a small grand, maybe 5’6”= to 6’2” (pure speculation on my part).    &nbsp= ;Bamboo I would probably interpret as a piece of cheap chopstick. But I= ’d need to have the context. Think 40’s and 50’s. What was readil= y available to folks then?     Plastic? A straw= would be a good guess. See what effect it has. Maybe something thicker= and harder would be needed to have a noticeable effect.  &nbs= p;  Might be nice to find a recording to see what it sounds l= ike and try to match. Margaret Leng Tan is an excellent Cage specialist= , probably recorded his complete works for piano.    =  You might ask Alan Eder, at CalArts, <ReggaePass@aol.com>, = for further advice. You can ask him in person at next summer’s instit= ute in Rochester, but I guess that’ll be too late for this particular= project <g>. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexi= co PS A good deal of Cage’s music, well-played, is great stuf= f IMO. There is a bit of balderdash too, and it got more press, being “= outrageous” and whatnot. I’m particularly fond of his Sonatas and I= nterludes for piano. </DIV></BODY></HTML>