Analysis Of Graphic Notation: The Case Of John Cage

Aoife Mulligan 11490978 Seminar in Musicology MUS31070

Graphic Notation: The Case of John Cage

Stone defines graphic notation as ‘music notated with “implicit graphic,” even though such notation does not fit into the present guidebook, being incompatible with any form of standardization’. (Stone, 1980, p.103) The main difference between graphic and other forms of notation is that its aim is not to convey any specific directions regarding pitch, dynamics, note duration etc. (Stone, 1980, p.103) The system of graphic notation adopted by Cage was one which combined visual graphics with conventional musical notation. An example of this can be seen in Figure 1, where the conventional treble and bass clef on two five-line staves is used with

(Pritchett, 1993, p.92) In 1957 – 58, Cage composed two works for pianos which are significant in the category of indeterminate works, Winter Music and Concert for Piano and Orchestra. Winter Music, written for twenty pianos is made up of twenty pages of music, to be played either partially or in their entirety. These twenty pages range from having between one and sixty-one chords, scattered over the page. The chords are written either as a cluster or are made up of between one and ten pitches. The clusters are written as two notes on different pitches, with the illustration of a rectangle above. The chords are written with two clef signs, a combination of treble and bass. In the case of clusters, or chords with two notes, one note should be read in each clef. In some cases, if there are more than two notes, then numbers are given above the chord, for example 5-3 or 1-4 (Figure 3) to indicate how the notes should be divided over the two clefs. Pritchett compares the system used by Cage in composing Winter Music and Music for Piano and refers to ‘paper imperfections’ which he used to create

Cage also uses combinations of lines and curves, where notes are placed on the curves but only in spaces between straight lines. The notes are read, as in common notation, from left to right while the curves are ignored. Arrows are also used to indicate the direction in which notes are to be played. The composer uses a grid to represent ‘noises’, ‘those made on the inside of the piano, those made on the outside, and “auxiliary” noises made off the piano’. (Pritchett, 1993, p.119) The indeterminacy of Cage’s compositions is achieved not only using lines, curves and points, but also in the notes and directions given to the performer. Cage chose to call this work a ‘concert’, rather than a ‘concerto’, as all instrumentalists, in fact play the role of a soloist. The work is scored for piano, strings, woodwind and brass, with the inclusion of the alto flute and saxophone. The conductor also has an independent part to play by representing a timekeeper. (Pritchett, 1993, p.119) Cage wrote ‘My intention in this piece was to hold together extreme disparities, much as one