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

Translator: Yukice Wan Reviewer: Thomas Tam

In 1960, American composer John Cage went on national television

喺 1960 年，

美國作曲家 John Cage 上咗全國性嘅電視台

to share his latest work.

分享佢嘅新作，

But rather than employing traditional instruments,

與其運用傳統樂器，

Cage 似乎被屋企嘅雜物圍住，

Cage appeared surrounded by household clutter,

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

包括有一個浴缸、冰粒、

一條玩具魚、一個壓力煲、

a rubber duck, and several radios.

一隻膠鴨仔同幾部收音機。

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

帶咗呢啲工具同埋一隻秒錶， 表演「水之行」，

setting off a series of sounds with a serious expression

以嚴肅嘅表情， 發出一連串無比精確嘅聲音，

and incredible precision.

有啲觀眾會覺得 個表演好搞笑，

Some viewers found the performance hysterical,

while others thought it was completely absurd.

而其他人則覺得 係完全荒謬。

But most people watching likely shared the same question:

但絕大部分睇嘅人 都有同一個問題：

呢啲重係唔係音樂？

is this even music?

This question is harder to answer than you might think.

呢個問題比你想像中 更難回答。

What we determine as music often depends on our expectations.

我哋所認為嘅音樂， 通常取決於我哋嘅期望。

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

例如：想像喺爵士樂酒吧裡面，

to the rhythmic honking of horns.

聽住有節奏嘅喇叭聲，

Most people would agree that this is music.

好多人會同意呢個係音樂嚟嘅。

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

但若果你喺高速公路上 聽到嘅時候，

大家就會稱之為噪音。

After all, car horns aren’t instruments

其實，汽車喇叭唔係樂器嚟，

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

嗰啲司機更唔係音樂家，係咪？

Expectations like these influence how we categorize everything we hear.

噉樣嘅期望會影響到 我哋點樣將啲聽到嘅聲音分類。

We typically think something sounds more musical

當音樂中用咗可識別嘅結構，

if it uses a recognizable structure or popular sounds

或者以眾所周知嘅模式編排，

我哋就會覺得啲聲音有音樂感。

arranged in well-known patterns.

And even within the realm of music,

即使喺音樂界當中，

we expect certain genres to use specific instruments and harmonies.

會預期某類型音樂， 會用上特定嘅樂器及和音。

These expectations are based on existing musical traditions,

呢啲預期由於既有嘅音樂傳統，

but those traditions aren't set in stone.

但呢啲傳統並非係一成不變，

They vary across different cultures and time periods.

佢哋會因唔同文化及時代而轉變。

And in the early 20th century,

喺 20 世紀初，有好多藝術家 正在突破自己領域嘅界限，

when many artists were pushing the boundaries of their fields,

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

John Cage 想去發掘

超越呢啲限制嘅新音樂類型，

beyond those constraints.

He began pioneering new instruments that blurred the lines

佢首創、新嘅樂器，

模糊咗音樂藝術與日常生活嘅界線。

between art and everyday life,

and used surprising objects to reinvent existing instruments.

並利用一啲特別嘅物件， 跳出過去樂器嘅框架。

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

佢亦探索咗音樂 與其他藝術形式融合嘅新方法，

He and his creative and romantic partner, Merce Cunningham,

佢同創意嘅浪漫伴侶 Merce Cunningham，

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

Cage 創作嘅音樂 同 Cunningham 編排嘅舞蹈，

would be created independently before being performed together.

先分開表現， 然後再同埸一齊演出。

But whatever his approach,

無論用咩嘢方式，

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

Cage 都興高采烈噉挑戰聽眾

去質疑音樂與噪音、 聲音與寂靜之間嘅分野。

as well as sound and silence.

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

或者最好嘅例子就係 Cage 其中一首最出名嘅作品——

a solo piano piece consisting of nothing but musical rests

鋼琴獨奏曲

全曲無其他音樂， 單由休止符組成，

for four minutes and 33 seconds.

長逹四分三十三秒，

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

呢個唔係惡作劇， 而係一個提問。

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

噉打開同閂番鋼琴個蓋， 就係咪等於音樂呢？

What about the click of a stopwatch?

至於秒錶嘅滴答聲呢？

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

一群人、喺行為同移動 發出沙沙聲、同抱怨聲又係咪呢？

Like the white canvases of his painting peers,

就好似佢嘅朋友 塗滿白色嘅畫布，

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

Cage 質疑觀眾對音樂嘅期望。

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

雖然話呢首曲冇激發起 傳統作品嘅戲劇性效果，

it certainly elicited a strong emotional response.

卻確實引起咗聽者 強烈嘅情緒反應，

Cage’s work frequently prioritized these spontaneous, ephemeral experiences

Cage 嘅作品經常會將 短暫同即興嘅經歷放喺首位，

over precise, predictable performances.

而唔係啲精確又可預測嘅表演。

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

佢甚至發展喺作曲嘅流程度 容許隨機嘅決定。

One of his favorite such systems was the I Ching,

其中一個佢鍾意嘅系統係易經，

an ancient Chinese divination text.

源於中國古代占卜嘅典籍，

Using just a handful of coins,

只需用幾個硬幣

the I Ching allows readers to produce a pattern of lines

易經就能夠令問卜嘅人 產生線條圖案，

which can be interpreted to answer questions and offer fortunes.

去解答問題同提供未來運勢。

But Cage adapted these patterns into a series of tables

Cage 卻將呢啲圖案 改編成連串嘅表格，

that generated different musical durations, tempos, and dynamics.

用嚟產生唔同長度、 拍子及強弱嘅音樂。

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

之後，佢更利用早期嘅電腦 協助製作呢啲隨機嘅參數。

For some pieces, Cage went even further,

Cage 某啲作品更進一步，

offering musicians incomplete compositions notated with broad instructions,

將唔完整嘅樂曲俾啲音樂家，

用廣泛嘅指示嚟譜曲，

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

Cage 允許佢哋 喺指引下即興創作。

Some composers rejected Cage's seemingly careless approach.

有啲作曲家抵制呢種 看似草率嘅演奏方式，

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

深信作曲家嘅職責係

針對著特定同有意義嘅目的， 嚟組織好聲音同時間，

for a specific, intentional purpose.

After all, if these strange compositions were music,

因此，若呢啲奇特嘅創作係音樂，

then where do we draw the line?

噉我哋喺邊度定界線呢？

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

Cage 呢位勇敢嘅探險家， 唔想被啲限制困住自己，

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

亦絕對唔想跟隨舊嘅規矩。

He dedicated himself to shattering our expectations,

所以，佢致力於粉碎我哋嘅期望，

creating a series of once in a lifetime experiences

創造出連串一世人得一次嘅體驗，

that continue encouraging musicians and audiences

持續鼓勵音樂家同埋觀眾，

to embrace the unexpected.

去擁抱著意料之外嘅嘢。