Re:John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnesse...
by lmm on Thursday April 03, 2025 @09:24PM
(#43577391)
Does it in fact have rhythm, melody, harmony, unity, or continuity? If it's too slow for any human to actually observe those qualities in it then I'd argue that it does not.
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Re:John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnesse...
by robin_reala on Friday April 04, 2025 @12:35AM
(#43578356)
It’s playing a chord, so harmony exists by definition. It also has 600 years of continuity planned in.
Re:John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnesse...
by cwillu on Friday April 04, 2025 @01:30AM
(#43578649)
And if a tree falls in a forest with no one to hear it, it makes a sound by definition.
…and yet that answer entirely misses the point that the question is about the choice of definition.
Re:John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnesse...
by kelnos on Friday April 04, 2025 @03:01AM
(#43579137)
Do photons and electrons not exist, because we cannot observe them directly?
You can certainly play a recording of the piece at whatever speed you desire, and decide if it has rhythm, melody, harmony, unity, and continuity. Extremely slowing the piece down does not remove those things.
Re:John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnesse...
by dagw on Friday April 04, 2025 @11:25AM
(#43583798)
Are you talking about the composition or this particular performance of that composition. This performance may be too slow for any human to actually observe, but the composition is just a piece of sheet music you can read and judge like any other composition. This is far from the first performance of this piece, it's just that most other performances have been in the 20 minute to 20 hour range.