Searching for Silence

I find the concept of John Cage's 4:33 to be interesting in its challenging the concept of what music is (or can be). However, I am not convinced by his implying that the "silence" or the assortment of random noises going on during the performance can be considered music, and by extension, a work of art. I believe what makes music an art form is rhythm and the creation of a unique atmosphere. A collection of random and untimed noises does not music make. I think that different sounds in a piece of music must carry meaning and purpose. In the 4:33 performances the sounds made are random and abstract and do not seem to come together in a meaningful way. This is not to say that 4:33 is not art in its self because, as we discussed in class, the definition of art is abstract in nature. I just do not find it to fall into the category of music as an art form. In relation to our projects, I do not think a sound scape necessarily condones a piece of music. A sound scape may contain bits of music, however a sound scape is not its self music. While working on the project, it reminds me a lot of doing sound design on a video. In our project we are creating a atmosphere and conveying a theme using a collection of sounds but without defined elements of music like rhythm and melody among other things it is just a collection of sounds. Again, this is not to say that a collection of sounds does not carry meaning and is not a form of art. In conclusion, I can see that perhaps my definition of music does not a line with that of John Cage's.