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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>These speculations are all very =
amusing, but
seriously, John Cage was quite sincere about these pieces, in the =
sense
that he had a very carefully considered philosophy and methodology of =
composing,
and was VERY interested in the uncontrolled, spontaneous moment as part =
of the
composition. The changes and unrehearsed differences that occur =
from
performance to performance (including different prep materials and what =
people
think he might meant by this or that instruction) were for him, part of =
the
music. This included audience reaction, which would include, I =
feel
certain, the controversies around the music like what is in this thread =
right
now. He hoped to evoke an awareness on the listener's part as to =
what part
of the musical experience is our reaction based on expectations and
preconceptions, and what part is simply the spontaneousness of the
moment-- and what it means to actually have a "purpose" in the =
first
place. In his playing with the very definition of music, he =
was very
influenced by an abiding interest in Zen Bhuddism. He was anything =
but
drug induced (joking aside), but was a very articulate, fastidious man =
who was
very health conscious. You can Google him and find out =
all kinds
of fascinating things about him. When you see how important he was =
to a
certain branch of musical thought, he certainly commands respect for =
integrity
of intent, even if you remain uninterested in the music =
itself.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We have a percussion instructor here =
who is a John
Cage scholar and serious fan. At least one of his works is =
performed
here every year by the percussion ensemble, and while it is true that =
you must
carefully control and instruct the pianists "preparations", I've never =
seen a
broken string due to this use. The worst that has ever occured is =
a
slightly cockeyed damper head, and after the problem and the way to =
avoid it was
pointed out, the problem did not recurr. We don't allow the main
performance instruments to be used for this purpose, and in general a =
culture of
respect and concern for the piano's well being is fostered and =
maintained by all
involved, beginning with myself and the percussion =
instructor.</FONT> <FONT
face=Arial size=2> With this as the basis for doing this music, =
everyone can
usually relax and have fun.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Just my two cents.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greg Granoff</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Humboldt State University</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jtanner@mozart.sc.edu =
href="mailto:jtanner@mozart.sc.edu">Jeff
Tanner</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> =
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 05, =
2005 10:36
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] John Cage, =
"The Earth
Shall Bear Again"</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Oct 5, 2005, at 11:48 AM, Otto Keyes wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 12px Helvetica" =
face=Helvetica
size=3>My vote is to let the earth bear it....again.....give the =
rest of us
a break</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 12px Helvetica" =
face=Helvetica
size=3>outside the cage...</FONT></P>
<P style="MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px =
Helvetica"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 12px Helvetica" =
face=Helvetica
size=3>Otto</FONT></P><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
<DIV>Well, I would vote with you, but it is beginning to look like my
preferences and suggestions that prepared piano accelerates piano wear =
are
being totally ignored. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>"I just want to do something different" </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>"but it sounds so cool"</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Yeah, some people probably think the sound of an airliner =
colliding with
a tall building sounds cool and different too.</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Anyhow, I agreed to help her with the preparation. This =
piece
didn't look too involved as long as she lets me help. Rather do =
it that
way than find a bunch of maimed damper felt and broken =
strings. The
problem is going to become that she will want to rehearse it on a =
prepared
practice room piano from now till March. </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Question is this: the instructions give exact distance from =
the
damper to place the screws, bolts, etc. How much does piano make =
and
model affect what Cage was after? (I mean, really, was there =
really a
method to his madness? or was this guy just really doing some serious
d-basing?) When he says "bamboo", is it a "slice" of large =
bamboo or a
"tube" of smaller diameter bamboo (like what he was using to snort =
coke? maybe
a doobie holder?)? green or dried? and what is usually =
used for
the "plastic" weaved around the low A, Bb, and B? Drink straw =
maybe?
(see snort)</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>No. I'm sorry. I just can't take this music form seriously. =
But
some people want to give it merit.</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Jeff</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>