Per molts de nosaltres, ara mateix, la vida és més silenciosa que de costum. I el silenci pot ser inquietant. Pot fer que et sentis sol, o potser massa conscient de les coses que trobes a faltar.
For many of us right now, our lives are quieter than normal. And quiet can be unnerving. It can make you feel lonely, or just all too aware of the things you're missing out on.
Sempre penso en el so. Sóc enginyer de so, i presento el podcast "Vint mil hertzs". Tracta dels sons més reconeixibles i interessants del món. Però crec que ara és el moment més adient per parlar del silenci. Perquè he arribat a comprendre que el silenci no existeix. I la persona que em va obrir els ulls a aquesta idea, és un dels compositors més influents de la història.
I think about sound all the time. I'm a sound designer, and I host the podcast "Twenty Thousand Hertz." It's all about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. But I think this is the perfect time to talk about silence. Because what I've come to understand is that there is no such thing as silence. And the person who opened my mind to this idea is one of the most influential composers in history.
(Música de piano)
(Piano music)
John Cage ha influenciat profundament artistes de molts gèneres, des de músics d'avantguarda a dansa moderna o música pop. Ara estem escoltant la seva composició de 1948 titulada "En un paisatge". Aquesta versió va ser gravada el 1994 per Stephen Drury.
John Cage has made an impact on artists in many genres, from avant-garde musicians, to modern dance, to pop music. Right now, we're listening to his 1948 piece called "In a Landscape." This version was recorded in 1994 by Stephen Drury.
(Música de piano)
(Piano music)
En realitat, aquesta peça no és típica de l'escriptura de John Cage. És més conegut per les seves innovacions i tècniques d'avantguarda. Però malgrat la seva reputació, Ningú estava preparat per al que va fer el 1952, quan va crear la composició més agosarada de la seva carrera. Es titulava 4 minuts 33 segons i alguns crítics fins i tot es van negar a dir-ne "música" d'aquella peça, perquè al llarg de la duració sencera de l'obra, el músic no toca res en absolut. Bé, per dir-ho tècnicament, en realitat el músic toca pauses. Però, per al públic, sembla com si no passés res.
This piece is actually not very typical of John Cage's writing. He's more known for his innovations and avant-garde techniques. But despite his reputation, no one was prepared for what he did in 1952, when he created the most daring piece of his career. It was called "4'33''," and it was a piece that some critics even refused to call "music," because for the entire duration of the piece, the performer plays nothing at all. Well, to be technical, the performer is actually playing rest. But to the audience, it looks like nothing is happening.
«4' 33''», de John Cage, es va estrenar l'estiu del 1952, interpretada pel famós pianista David Tudor. Va ser a la sala de concerts Maverick a Woodstock, Nova York. És un bell edifici de fusta amb enormes obertures a l'exterior. David Tudor va aparèixer a l'escenari, es va asseure al piano, i va tancar la tapa del piano. Aleshores va seure en silenci, i només es movia per obrir i tancar la tapa del piano, entre cada un dels tres moviments. Quan es va acabar el temps, es va aixecar i va marxar de l'escenari.
John Cage's "4'33''" was performed for the first time in the summer of 1952, by renowned pianist David Tudor. It was at the Maverick Concert hall in Woodstock, New York. This is a beautiful wooden building with huge openings to the outdoors. So, David Tudor walked out on stage, sat down at the piano, then closed the piano lid. He then sat in silence, only moving to open and close the piano lid between each of the three movements. After the time was up, he got up and walked off the stage.
(Música de piano)
(Piano music)
El públic no sabia què pensar. La gent es va preguntar si Cage es prenia seriosament la seva carrera. Un amic íntim li va escriure, pregant-li que no convertís la seva carrera en una broma. John Cage havia "compost" si li podeu dir així, una peça de música que desafiava idees molt consolidades sobre la composició musical. És una qüestió sobre la qual els músics encara discuteixen.
The audience had no idea what to think. It made people wonder if Cage is even taking his career seriously. A close friend even wrote to him, begging that he not turn his career into a joke. John Cage had, well, if you could call it, composed a piece of music that really challenged some very established ideas about music composition. It's something that musicians still debate today.
Per entendre en què pensava John Cage, reculem a la dècada dels 40. En aquells moments, John Cage s'estava fent famós component per a un piano preparat.
To understand just what John Cage was thinking, let's back up to the 1940s. Back then, John Cage was making a name for himself composing for the prepared piano.
(Música de piano)
(Piano music)
Per fer música així, John Cage posava objectes dins el piano, entre les cordes. Coses que trobem pel voltant, com cargols, cintes o gomes de llapis. De manera que ara el piano s'ha transformat d'un instrument tonal amb tons alts i baixos, en un conjunt de sons únics. La música que esteu escoltant és la "Sonata V" de Cage, de "Sonates i interludis per piano preparat". Potser és la seva obra més famosa a part de «4' 33''» Aquesta versió va ser interpretada per Boris Berman. John Cage va escriure instruccions molt detallades de a quin lloc del piano s'havia de col·locar cada objecte. Però és impossible que cada intèrpret trobi exactament els mateixos objectes, o sigui que el so que s'obté sempre és diferent. En essència, sempre depèn de l'atzar. Això era força esbojarrat i ben diferent a la manera de fer que ensenyen als compositors i als músics.
To make music like this, John Cage would put objects inside the piano, between the strings. Things you just find lying around, like screws, tape and rubber erasers. So now, you've transformed the piano from a tonal instrument with high and low pitches into a collection of unique sounds. The music you're hearing is Cage's "Sonata V," from "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano." Probably his most famous work outside of "4'33''." This version was performed by Boris Berman. John Cage wrote incredibly detailed instructions about where to place each object in the piano. But it's impossible for every performer to get the exact same objects, so the sound you get is always different. Basically, it comes down to random chance. This was pretty bananas and pretty alien to the way most composers and musicians are taught to do things.
John Cage s'interessava cada cop més en la casualitat i l'atzar. i a permetre que fos l'univers qui respongués a la pregunta "Quina nota hauria de tocar a continuació?" Però per sentir la resposta a la pregunta, primer, cal que escoltis. I en els anys quaranta, escoltar l'univers cada cop era més difícil.
John Cage was becoming increasingly interested in chance and randomness and letting the universe provide the answer to the question "What note should I play next?" But to hear the answer to the question, first, you have to listen. And in the 1940s, listening to the universe was getting harder to do.
(Música de fons a l'ascensor)
(Elevator music)
L'empresa Musak es va fundar als anys trenta. Va tenir molt d'èxit, i ben aviat, gairebé a tot arreu se sentia constantment música de fons. Era gairebé impossible fugir-ne. John Cage es va adonar que la gent perdia la possibilitat d'aïllar-se de la música de fons del món. L'amoïnava que Musak impedís del tot a la gent escoltar el silenci.
The Muzak company was founded in the '30s. It really took off, and soon, there was constant background music nearly everywhere. It was almost impossible to escape. John Cage realized that people were losing the option to shut out the background music of the world. He worried that Muzak would prevent people from hearing silence altogether.
El 1948, quatre anys abans d'escriure «4' 33''». John Cage va comentar que volia escriure una peça de silenci de quatre minuts i mig i vendre-la a l'empresa Musak. Va començar com una afirmació política, o un comentari informal, però la idea li va tocar el cor i de seguida va evolucionar. John Cage començava a pensar a fons sobre el silenci. I quan va visitar un lloc silenciós de debò, va fer una descoberta sorprenent.
In 1948, four years before he wrote "4'33''," John Cage mentioned that he wanted to write a four-and-a-half-minute-long piece of silence and sell it to the Muzak company. It started as something of a political statement or an offhand comment, but this idea struck a nerve and quickly evolved. John Cage was starting to think deeply about silence. And when he visited a truly quiet place, he made a startling discovery.
John Cage va visitar una cambra anecoica a la Universitat de Harvard. Les cambres anecoiques es tracten acústicament per minimitzar el so a gairebé zero. En aquestes habitacions no hi ha sons, o sigui que John Cage esperava no sentir res de res. Però de fet va sentir la circulació de la seva sang.
John Cage visited an anechoic chamber at Harvard University. Anechoic chambers are rooms that are acoustically treated to minimize sound to almost zero. There are no sounds in these rooms, so John Cage didn't expect to hear anything at all. But he actually heard his own blood circulating.
(Pols)
(Pulse)
He experimentat personalment una cambra anecoica, i és una experiència brutal de debò que et canvia per complet les percepcions sobre el so i el silenci. Sentia com si el cervell pugés el volum d'un amplificador maldant per sentir alguna cosa. Ben bé com John Cage, podia sentir la sang que s'obria pas pel cos.
I've personally experienced an anechoic chamber, and it's a really wild experience that can completely change your perceptions about sound and silence. It really felt like my brain just turning up an amplifier, grasping for anything to hear. Just like John Cage, I could very clearly hear my blood pushing through my body.
John Cage es va adonar, en aquell moment, que, sigui on sigui que ens trobem, fins i tot els nostres cossos fan sons. En el fons, no existeix el silenci de debò. Mentre estàs en el cos, sempre sents alguna cosa.
John Cage realized, in that moment, that no matter where we are, even our bodies are making sound. There's basically no such thing as true silence. As long as you are in your body, you're always hearing something.
I aquí és on l'interès de John Cage per l'atzar i la casualitat va coincidir amb el seu interès pel silenci. Es va adonar que la creació d'un entorn sense distraccions no volia dir crear el silenci, ni tan sols controlar el soroll. Tenia a veure amb els sons que ja hi eren, però que de cop escoltes per primera vegada, quan estàs disposat de debò a escoltar.
This is where John Cage's interest in chance and randomness met his interest in silence. He realized that creating an environment with no distractions wasn't about creating silence. It wasn't even about controlling noise. It was about the sounds that were already there, but you suddenly hear for the first time when you're really ready to listen.
Això és el que la gent tot sovint no entén de «4' 33''». La gent es pensa que és una broma, però no hi ha res més lluny de la realitat. Sona diferent on sigui que el toquis, I aquesta és la qüestió. El que John Cage volia que sentíssim és la bellesa del món sònic que ens envolta.
That's what's so often misunderstood about "4'33''." People assume it's a joke, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It sounds different everywhere you play it. And that's the point. What John Cage really wanted us to hear is the beauty of the sonic world around us.
(Piuladissa d'ocells)
(Birds chirping)
(Veus superposades)
(Overlapping voices)
(Toc de campanes)
(Church bell ringing)
(Carrisqueig de grills i xiscle d'òliba)
(Crickets chirping and owl hooting)
«4' 33''» ha de ser una experiència conscient que t'ajudi a centrar-te en acceptar les coses tal com són. No és res que un altre et pugui dir com has de sentir. És profundament personal. També suscita preguntes importants sobre el nostre món sònic. ¿«4' 33''» és música, és so, és música de sons? I és que hi ha diferència? John Cage ens recorda que la música no és l'únic tipus de so que val la pena escoltar. Tots els sons mereixen que hi pensem.
"4'33''" should be a mindful experience that helps you focus on accepting things just the way they are. It's not something that anyone else can tell you how you're supposed to feel. It's deeply personal. It also brings up some pretty big questions about our sonic world. Is "4'33''" music, is it sound, is sound music? Is there even a difference? John Cage reminds us that music isn't the only kind of sound worth listening to. All sounds are worth thinking about.
Tenim una oportunitat única de reiniciar l'oïda. I si esdevenim més conscients del que escoltem, segur que farem que el món ens soni millor. El silenci no és tancar la ment al so, sinó quan podem començar a escoltar de debò i sentir el món en tota la seva bellesa sònica.
We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset our ears. And if we become more conscious of what we hear, we'll inherently make our world sound better. Quietness is not when we turn off our minds to sound, but when we can really start to listen and hear the world in all of its sonic beauty.
Doncs amb aquesta actitud tocarem junts «4' 33''», sigueu on sigueu. Són tres moviments, i us faré saber quan comencen. Escolteu la textura i el ritme dels sons que us envolten ara mateix. Escolteu el fort i el fluix, l'harmònic i el dissonant, i tots els petits detalls que fan que cada so sigui únic. Feu-ho amb consciència plena i centreu-vos en aquest moment sònic de la vida real. Gaudiu de l'esplendor de sentir i escoltar. Ara ve el primer moviment, Començant... ara.
So in this spirit, let's perform "4'33''" together, wherever you are. It's three movements, and I'll let you know when they start. Listen to the texture and rhythm of the sounds around you right now. Listen for the loud and soft, the harmonic, the dissonant, and all the small details that make every sound unique. Spend this time as mindful and focused in this real-life sonic moment. Enjoy the magnificence of hearing and listening. So here comes the first movement. Starting ... now.
[I. Tacet]
[I. Tacet]
(Sense àudio)
(No audio)
I aquest és el segon moviment. Durarà dos minuts i 23 segons.
And here's movement two. It will be two minutes and 23 seconds.
[II. Tacet]
[II. Tacet]
(Sense àudio)
(No audio)
I aquest és el moviment final. Durarà un minut i 40 segons.
And here is the final movement. It will be one minute and 40 seconds.
[III. Tacet]
[III. Tacet]
(Sense àudio)
(No audio)
I ja està. Ho hem fet. Gràcies per escoltar.
And that's it. We did it. Thanks for listening.