Test yourself: Can you tell the difference between music and noise? - Hanako Sawada

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

In 1960, American composer John Cage went on national television

Godine 1960, američki kompozitor Džon Kejdž

je stigao na nacionalnu televiziju kako bi podelio svoje najnovije delo.

to share his latest work.

But rather than employing traditional instruments,

Međutim, umesto upotrebe tradicionalnih instrumenata,

Cage appeared surrounded by household clutter,

Kejdž se pojavio okružen predmetima iz domaćinstva,

including a bathtub, ice cubes, a toy fish, a pressure cooker,

uključujući kadu, kocke leda, igračku ribu, ekspres lonac,

a rubber duck, and several radios.

gumenu patku i nekoliko radija.

Armed with these tools and a stopwatch, he performed “Water Walk,”

Naoružan ovim alatima i štopericom, izveo je „Voda i hod”,

setting off a series of sounds with a serious expression

pokrećući niz zvukova sa ozbiljnim izrazom

and incredible precision.

i neverovatnom preciznošću.

Some viewers found the performance hysterical,

Nekim gledaocima izvedba je bila urnebesna,

while others thought it was completely absurd.

dok su je drugi smatrali potpuno apsurdnom.

But most people watching likely shared the same question:

Međutim, većina gledalaca je verovatno delila isto pitanje:

is this even music?

da li je ovo uopšte muzika?

This question is harder to answer than you might think.

Odgovor na ovo pitanje je teži nego što biste pomislili.

What we determine as music often depends on our expectations.

Ono što određujemo kao muziku često zavisi od naših očekivanja.

For example, imagine you’re in a jazz club listening

Na primer, zamislite da ste u džez klubu i slušate

to the rhythmic honking of horns.

ritmičko trubljenje horni.

Most people would agree that this is music.

Većina ljudi bi se složila da je ovo muzika.

But if you were on the highway hearing the same thing, many would call it noise.

Da ste pak na auto-putu i slušate istu stvar, mnogi bi to nazvali bukom.

After all, car horns aren’t instruments

Naposletku, automobilske sirene nisu instrumenti

and these drivers aren’t musicians... right?

i ovi vozači nisu muzičari... zar ne?

Expectations like these influence how we categorize everything we hear.

Slična očekivanja utiču na to kako kategorišemo sve što čujemo.

We typically think something sounds more musical

Obično smatramo da nešto zvuči muzikalnije,

if it uses a recognizable structure or popular sounds

ako koristi prepoznatljivu strukturu ili popularne zvukove

arranged in well-known patterns.

organizovane u poznate obrasce.

And even within the realm of music,

A čak i u oblasti muzike,

we expect certain genres to use specific instruments and harmonies.

očekujemo od određenih žanrova da koriste specifične instrumente i harmonije.

These expectations are based on existing musical traditions,

Ta očekivanja su zasnovana na postojećim muzičkim tradicijama,

but those traditions aren't set in stone.

ali te tradicije nisu uklesane u kamenu.

They vary across different cultures and time periods.

Variraju širom različitih kultura i vremenskih perioda.

And in the early 20th century,

A u ranom XX veku,

when many artists were pushing the boundaries of their fields,

kada su mnogi umetnici pomerali granice u svojim oblastima,

John Cage wanted to discover what new kinds of music might exist

Džon Kejdž je želeo da otkrije kakvi bi novi vidovi muzike mogli da postoje

beyond those constraints.

izvan postojećih ograničenja.

He began pioneering new instruments that blurred the lines

Postao je rodonačelnik novih instrumenata koji su zamagljivali granice

between art and everyday life,

između umetnosti i svakodnevice,

and used surprising objects to reinvent existing instruments.

i koristio je iznenađujuće predmete da nanovo osmisli postojeće instrumente.

He also explored new ways for music to mingle with other art forms.

Istraživao je i nove načine spajanja muzike sa drugim umetničkim oblicima.

He and his creative and romantic partner, Merce Cunningham,

On i njegov umetnički i ljubavni partner, Mers Kaningem,

held recitals where Cage’s music and Cunningham’s choreography

držali su recitale gde su Kejdžova muzika i Kaningemova koreografija

would be created independently before being performed together.

stvarani nezavisno pre nego što bi ih izveli zajedno.

But whatever his approach,

Međutim, bez obzira na pristup,

Cage gleefully dared listeners to question the boundaries between music and noise,

Kedjž je rado izazivao slušaoce da preispituju granice između muzike i buke,

as well as sound and silence.

kao i između zvuka i tišine.

Perhaps the best example is one of Cage’s most famous compositions—

Možda je najbolji primer za to jedna od Kejdžovih najpoznatijih kompozicija -

a solo piano piece consisting of nothing but musical rests

klavirski solo komad koji se sastoji samo od muzičkih pauza

for four minutes and 33 seconds.

od četiri minuta i 33 sekunde.

This wasn’t intended as a prank, but rather, as a question.

Delo nije namenjeno kao ujdurma, već pre kao pitanje.

Could the opening and closing of a piano lid be music?

Može li podizanje i spuštanje klavirskog poklopca da bude muzika?

What about the click of a stopwatch?

Šta je sa škljocanjem štoperice?

The rustling, and perhaps even the complaining, of a crowd?

Komešanjem, pa čak i negodovanjem gomile?

Like the white canvases of his painting peers,

Poput belih platana njegovih kolega slikara,

Cage asked the audience to question their expectations about what music was.

Kejdž je tražio od publike da preispituje svoja očekivanja o tome šta muzika jeste.

And while the piece didn’t evoke the drama of some traditional compositions,

I iako delo nije evociralo dramu nekih tradicionalnih kompozicija,

it certainly elicited a strong emotional response.

zasigurno je izazivalo snažan emocionalni odgovor.

Cage’s work frequently prioritized these spontaneous, ephemeral experiences

Kejdžovo delo je često davalo prednost spontanim, efemernim iskustvima

over precise, predictable performances.

nasuprot preciznih, predvidljivih izvedbi.

He even developed processes that left some compositional decisions up to chance.

Čak je razvio procese koji su prepuštali neke kompozitorske odluke slučaju.

One of his favorite such systems was the I Ching,

Jedan od njegovih omiljenih sličnih sistema je bio Ji đing,

an ancient Chinese divination text.

drevni kineski proročki tekst.

Using just a handful of coins,

Upotrebom svega šačice novčića,

the I Ching allows readers to produce a pattern of lines

Ji đing omogućuje čitaocima da proizvedu obrasce linija

which can be interpreted to answer questions and offer fortunes.

koji se mogu tumačiti kao odgovori na pitanja i proricanje sudbine.

But Cage adapted these patterns into a series of tables

Međutim, Kejdž je adaptirao ove obrasce u nizove tabela

that generated different musical durations, tempos, and dynamics.

koji su davali različita tonska trajanja, tempo i dinamiku.

Eventually, he even used early computers to help produce these random parameters.

Naposletku je čak koristio rane kompjutere da proizvede ove nasumične parametre.

For some pieces, Cage went even further,

U nekim delima, Kejdž je otišao još dalje,

offering musicians incomplete compositions notated with broad instructions,

nudeći muzičarima nedovršene kompozicije obeležene labavim uputstvima,

allowing them to compose on the fly with the help of his guidelines.

omogućujući im da komponuju u hodu uz pomoć njegovih smernica.

Some composers rejected Cage's seemingly careless approach.

Neki kompozitori su odbacili Kejdžov naoko nemaran pristup.

They believed it was the composer’s job to organize sound and time

Verovali su da je posao kompozitora da organizuje zvuk i vreme

for a specific, intentional purpose.

u ime specifične, hotimične svrhe.

After all, if these strange compositions were music,

Naposletku, ako su ove neobične kompozicije bile muzika,

then where do we draw the line?

onda gde povlačimo crtu?

But like a bold explorer, Cage didn't want to be bound by restrictions,

Budući pak odvažan istraživač, Kejdž nije želeo da bude sputan ograničenjima,

and he certainly didn't want to follow old rules.

i zasigurno nije želeo da poštuje stara pravila.

He dedicated himself to shattering our expectations,

Posvetio se razbijanju naših očekivanja,

creating a series of once in a lifetime experiences

stvarajući nizove jedinstvenih iskustava

that continue encouraging musicians and audiences

koja nastavljaju da ohrabruju muzičare i publiku

to embrace the unexpected.

da prigrle neočekivano.