The work of John Cage

The work of musician John cage and the similarities to SF approaches.


Those who know my interests outside of my workplace know I'm involved in performing, producing and promoting experimental (electronic) music. As with any interests/hobbies there's a certain amount of research and learning curves to climb, the same applies to my interests. What I have learnt over the years is that one cannot simply switch from one frame of thinking to another (work and pleasure), nor should we and as many people who use Solution Focused Approaches in their working lives have found, the approach useful in other areas of their lives. Not only finding the approach useful but also noticing similarities with SFA's and artforms and ways of live (i.e Zen). I have been 'studying' the history and techniques of experimental and improvised music and have witnessed striking similarities.

Here's a quote..The "experiment" in this case is not whether a piece succeeds or fails, but is in the fact that the outcome of the piece is uncertain or unforeseeable (Cage 1961, 13)

Straight away we have the the acceptance of uncertainty, I believe this acceptance helps the SFA to be available to all with no exclusions. Exclusions are mainly based on the predictability of success or failure of the models used. Experimental music has huge potential for creativity, both from the performer as well as the listener, the listener has therefore an active part in the performance, not performed to but performed with.

John cage describes music as a combination of sound and silence, silence therefore plays a hugely important role in the art similar to the importance of silence within conversations, although silence maybe the absence of music, there are many powerful things happening during the silence.

Also much of John Cage's work was based on chance (aleatory) rather than design (known to flip a coin to determine choices), allowing a freeform direction to the music. There was also the concept fluxus, whereby the artists are allowed to be creative and not to be governed by models and conventions.

The art of improvisation is an important aspect both of SFA's and experimental music, the need to listen, react, add, augment and add silence (do nothing) all contribute to the performance. Many great experimental artists have an understanding of conventions however choose not to be restrained by them, equally so, musicians who have not received musical training can also perform powerful pieces of art as long as they allow the listener to be active in the performance.

I sometimes wonder why so many SF practitioners have such artistic abilities, poets, musicians, painters etc, is there something intrinsic with the ability to be creative ?