David wrote:

>...  And what constitutes music? Notes in a diatonic scale played by
>serious-looking people in tuxedos? Is that all? How can any aware person
>in this century say a work by a composer is "not music?" That's what
>people said two centuries ago about Beethoven's string quartets.  Music,
>in my view, is organized sound.  4'33" is nothing more, nothing less than
>organized sound.  What sets it apart is that the musicians don't actually
>play notes, the sound is the sound of silence, the sound of humans and
>nature, the small quiet voice of God.

Sorry David,but your analogy sound inconsistent for me.Anyway if we suppose
" 4:33 " is nothing more,and nothing less than organized sound....etc.  Why
he didn't wrote just an indication:  " Play a big silence of 4minutes and
33 seconds " It could be more economic in order to don't waste to much
paper,and to don't speculate to much?A question:  how do you know the God
voice? How do you know it is quiet?.  It nobody knows.

>It is a rather shallow theatrical tricK Well then, we'd have to eliminate
>a whole lot of works from the repetoire if that is our criteria for
>"music." Paganinni Caprices, for example.  Cheap theatrical tricks designed
>to show off how much a musician has practiced.  Certainly not music.

Well,well,well, maybe could be not a beautiful music (it depend on your
taste),but  "certainly  not music"?????.

>This is a bad thing? For this it is not music? Beethoven's Grosse Fugue
>doesn't make you think about what "music" is?

Once more your analogy sounds inconsistenet.? why?:  Because in the grosse
fugue you have "things" to think, and in 4:33 you have only one "thing" to
think = the silence.And remember,not neccesarily it is the God voice style.

Well,despite every different argument agree or against,i think any action
on the life can be justified or detracted with many intelectual " per se"
arguments, but what is important is yo go to deepnes of the subject.  In
Occident (where most of us live) the occidental music is made for the
sensual (in the sensitive sense) hearing delight.  The Oriental music is
made with another porpuses (Most of them Ritualistic, or for inner soul
work) For me the principal problem with cage was his superficial acquainted
with Oriental knowledge,and he pretended introduce it into an Occidental
scheme.  Something similar and ridiculous made the Beatles when they made
a "bell pasticcio" (" collage") with they beautiful music and some
influence of the Rabby Shankar
.Of
course this belongs to popular music,but in these times is very common to
see the people get fascinated with Orient but unfortunately in a very
superficial way.  Best wishes:

Gerardo:.