4'33'' Experiment thread!

[SSC]

Ok, considering that the latest 4'33'' DISCUSSION went downhill, I much rather have us all interested (regardless of our particular opinions on it) do a collective experiment.

The experiment is as follows:

Carry out a "performance" of 4'33'', then post where you did it and what you felt/thought about and, above all, if it was a good/boring/exciting etc performance. Post your reactions and comments.

How do you "perform" 4'33''? Simply get a chronometer and time yourself for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, though really it can be a little longer or shorter (call it, er, rubato!) and listen to everything during that period of time as if you were listening to Beethoven, Mozart, etc. In fact nothing stops you from listening to a recording of Mozart WHILE performing 4'33'', for example.

This is not a discussion thread really, but a thread to share people's experiences on this because, frankly, I think that's what music is all about and we should be doing more of that rather than bickering.

PS: In case you don't have a chronometer, just time yourself with a regular clock, lol. Simple stuff.

[Guest QcCowboy]

2-hr ride from Qu

[Saiming]

I know that this is a bit off-topic. But when I was in Nambia in Kalahari Desert, we went out of our cars to stretch our legs. It was then when I experience the most intense feeling ever, basically pure silence. There was no sound of the wind, the engine was turned off. I experience intense silence - it is pretty difficult to explain the feeling since I think that one has to experience such an event to understand.

I like the initiative SSC :)

[Alexander]

I hear the subtle drone coming from my PC's fans, city noises and the maltreated children from the apartment right under mine banging on the walls and the floor. Through the curtains I can almost hear the daylight as it floodlights my bedroom, gently oscillating as it passes through the leaves of the plants. Focusing on the silence of the moment, my senses are heightened and trigger synaesthetic perceptions. The visual becomes auditory while the sounds blend with the visual environment in unity.

Interesting. It felt like meditation, but it was quite different. Great idea, SSC!

Alexandros

[robinjessome]

I spent at least an hour of that time listening to the wipers and the sound they made. I was completely fascinated. I know it's not entirely "sounds within silence", so, sorry SSC if it's a bit outside the realm of this particular experiment.

But the sound of the wipers varied depending on the intensity of the rain. It was fascinating.

I think this fits perfectly with the intent of the experiment.

Finding extraordinary sounds in ordinary events....

======================================

I went outside...I'm fighting a cold, and wanted a bit of fresh air. Stood on my back step for a few minutes....

sounds of cars on the street/parkinglot

>> car stereos >> people talking // shopping carts

Wind in trees ... few birds

distant rhythmic tikatikatika of streetcars and tires over rails...

... was hoping for a police siren, but didn't happen. 72A bus went by though - VROOOOOOOOOSHHHHHhh.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds around us....so varied and wonderful. Living in the city is a serious task (anyone? :shifty: ) but coming to appreciate the beauty and wonder everywhere...such sights and sounds - even from my own back step. I can't wait for better weather ... coffee, sitting outside...watching cars in parkinglots.

[Nik Mikas]

I like it when people realize that music's in the performance.

[Globutron]

I already do this frequently. I'm extremely appreciative of the happenings around me, which also links to my love of animals and nature in general.

Obviously the sound changes through times of the day, and I've done it anywhere, from now (4:30pm) to 4am, or most interestingly about 7am. least interestingly is about 1am.

Today - School children outside (one of the best sounds to relax to), wind through the window and causing a loud drone through the leaves of the trees. An occasional van alarm on repeat. downstairs flat music buzzing away. the low resonance of my housemate swearing at the TV, the laptop fan, my poster moving slightly to the wind, my ears ringing, the radiator cracking occasionally, a door closing, the piano outside being played by what seems to be a dead gorilla, but is in fact a student.

At night there are often annoying party people yelling or singing ode to joy or breaking car mirrors or writing 'butterfly' on a wall in paint. the early morning has really loud, obnoxious birds breaking my ear drums, and lots of other quiet birds, maybe asking it to be quiet, and early workers quietly walking away.

[jujimufu]

I'm listening to a performance right now.

I'm obviously performing too.

I can hear the air-conditioning. There's an airplane outside. Maybe a helicopter. Can't really tell. I'm playing keyboard. Literally. Mouse-clicking too. Head-scratching noises, the person next to me is also playing the keyboard. She writes something down. I just spotted a quote from the Windows opening theme.

That air-conditioning thing in the background is amazing. When I pay attention to it (like I just did right now, by performing 4'33" as SSC suggested), it's a lot richer than I thought it was, simply because I'm used to filtering out anything that gets in my way of trying to concentrate on something or talking.

It's exactly what David Lumsdaine says about disappearing from a big city and just going somewhere very very remote for a few weeks when he's composing. He says

"[Going somewhere geographically remote for a period of weeks]

gives me silence. I don't mean literal silence -there are insects, birds, frogs, the sound of wind, the sound of water- but my physical ears can open up to match the way the ears of my imagination open up when I'm composing. There are very few places in Europe where you can find those perspectives of sound. Most of the time we filter sound, just to be able to have a conversation. To be able to throw those filters away is the other side to the imaginative opening up."

Ford, Andrew. "Composer to Composer: Conversations about Contemporary Music" (1993). Quartet Books, London. p.76

[Hansen]

Ok, considering that the latest 4'33'' DISCUSSION went downhill, I much rather have us all interested (regardless of our particular opinions on it) do a collective experiment.

The experiment is as follows:

Carry out a "performance" of 4'33'', then post where you did it and what you felt/thought about and, above all, if it was a good/boring/exciting etc performance. Post your reactions and comments.

How do you "perform" 4'33''? Simply get a chronometer and time yourself for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, though really it can be a little longer or shorter (call it, er, rubato!) and listen to everything during that period of time as if you were listening to Beethoven, Mozart, etc. In fact nothing stops you from listening to a recording of Mozart WHILE performing 4'33'', for example.

This is not a discussion thread really, but a thread to share people's experiences on this because, frankly, I think that's what music is all about and we should be doing more of that rather than bickering.

PS: In case you don't have a chronometer, just time yourself with a regular clock, lol. Simple stuff.

The best part of your instruction was …

… nothing stops you from listening to a recording of Mozart WHILE performing 4'33''

So I did. Listening, on my computer, to two "cat pieces" by Mozart (from the singspiel "Der Stein der Weisen" by Henneberg, Gerl, Schack, Schikaneder, and Mozart, 1790), totaling 3'33''. My preset sequence of 'movements' consisted of

I tacet (33''),

II "miau" music (3'33''),

III tacet (33'').

In the 'movements' I and III there was really silence (due to my BOSE noice cancelling headphones).

The personal experience was simply 3'33'' music, by Mozart, and 33'' + 33'' non-music, by Cage (in memoriam).

[jawoodruff]

I've tried it... and tbh, I don't think it worked :<

I sat for the first 10 secs... and tried to make sure everything was silent...including the thoughts in my head... after the 15 secs, however, my thoughts began to race faster and faster faster...till eventually I couldn't focus on the silence anymore but instead on my own thoughts...after 2 mins of this... I closed my eyes to see if that would help... again, trying not to focus on anything but the world around me... my thoughts raced again...so I stopped.

[SSC]

I've tried it... and tbh, I don't think it worked :<

I sat for the first 10 secs... and tried to make sure everything was silent...including the thoughts in my head... after the 15 secs, however, my thoughts began to race faster and faster faster...till eventually I couldn't focus on the silence anymore but instead on my own thoughts...after 2 mins of this... I closed my eyes to see if that would help... again, trying not to focus on anything but the world around me... my thoughts raced again...so I stopped.

I think you got the wrong idea. It's not about silence, it's about the span of time, anywhere, and whatever sounds happen to be around. You don't need to "set it up." Just time yourself for 4'33'' mins and take it like a concert. :x

[jawoodruff]

If its about being aware of the sounds of the world around you... then I understand completely - I am already very aware of my surroundings and the noises and actions occuring in them... hence why I tried to focus on actual silence - to no avail.

[Cody Loyd]

I have done this before, so I decided to do it differently, and I must say that it was a success.

Usually when listening to music we tune out our surroundings in order to pay attention to the music, but what about listening to music and including in our attention the other sounds that are around us? (as you say... there is nothing stopping us from listening to mozart)

I listened to a recording of Voyage VI by Toshio Hosokawa, a piece for viola and strings. It is a modern sounding and atmospheric piece of music. I turned it down quietly and listened.

I live in an apartment on a busy street so I hear alot of traffic sounds, which I found to be rather varied, and at times almost rhythmic although it was usually to slow to really hold a pulse. I can hear three clocks ticking, one in this room, one in the kitchen and my wristwatch. The three of them, all with different intensities set up an interesting rhythm. The clock in the kitchen ticks slower than the one in the living room.. when I first started listening, the kitchen clock sliced the Living room beat almost exactly in half. By the end, they were getting very close to being in sync.

One of my neighbors went took a piss during my performance. I heard him walking around, (which at that moment set up an interesting rhythm with the viola tune) I heard the seat go up and then I heard him pissing(btw.. I hate apartments). The flush was very interesting. After the initial 'flush' sound was a very deep and sinister hissing/sucking sound. The sound was eerie and atmospheric and went on for a much longer time than I expected it to. (I don't think the guy washed his hands.. keep that in mind next time I meet him on the stairs)

Very near the end I heard a bird outside. A nice ending.

All in all.. the piece was about 6 minutes for me. Very enjoyable.

[SSC]

I have done this before, so I decided to do it differently, and I must say that it was a success.

Usually when listening to music we tune out our surroundings in order to pay attention to the music, but what about listening to music and including in our attention the other sounds that are around us? (as you say... there is nothing stopping us from listening to mozart)

You got the right idea when I said that about Mozart. Good to see that; great work! :>