Reading Blog #2

Reading this next article named “Searching for Silence, John Cage’s art of noise” by Alex Ross is very interesting. What really caught my eye in the reading is where they discussed what music is and what it can be. Music can be anything if you just listen. He wants people to realize the significance of silence and to take this silence and turn it into a time of meditation and mindful practices. Part of this article was to also talk about how there are negative aspects to sounds. People get caught in the noises which are made into songs and it can really determine who you are and how you act. When reading this I thought about how certain rap songs and voger music can make you say and want to do certain things. John wants people to look past the noises in music and just think. After hearing that I have been hearing sounds and wondering what other sounds I could play to make it a song. Music is designed for people to enjoy. Another thing Alex Ross talked about was the song John Cage made, “4’33”. It is pure silence. Ross dug into the song to try to find out the context but only found that it was made to have people reflect on the sounds in their environment and to listen to the natural music that surrounds them. Overall this article is a great read and I will recommend this to my friends. I have learned that music can be anything or even just nothing.