Looking Outwards – 06: Randomness

A work of music that employs randomness and chance is John Cage’s “Music of Changes.” I admire this piece because it introduces a level of objectivity into the creative process. John Cage controlled the randomness in the composition by referencing the Chinese book the I Ching. He previously arranged the chords, notes, etc. of the music, but he took notes from the book to order these elements. He used this method to create four “books” of music which comprise the “Music of Changes.” John Cage’s artistic sensibilities are manifested in the final work because the random conglomeration of the musical phrases he composed amplify and complement the random and erratic feeling the phrases convey.