After visiting Harvard’s anechoic chamber in 1950, he discovered that there was no true silence. However, Cage was serious about his intentions. To the surprise of no one, many were baffled that a piece of what was supposed to be melodic sound would be performed without, you know, sound. The duration of the performance itself was marked with a stopwatch.

Originally performed by David Tudor on August 29 of that year, the transitions between the three movements of the piece were marked by the opening and closing of a piano lid. Possibly the most famous silent composition, avant-garde composer John Cage created “4’33″” in 1952. Related: Top 10 Crazy And Unconventional Music Genres 10 John Cage, “4’33″”

They may even consider avant-garde, purposefully unmelodic experimentation as musical compositions.īut what happens when artists release or compose music that is completely silent? How is it possible to gain meaning from these pieces? To answer that question, here are ten silent musical compositions and why their silence gives them artistic or historical value. They may think of grating, overplayed earworms that they constantly hear on the radio. The Oxford English Dictionary defines music as “the art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form, harmony… etc.” When people think of music, they may think of short, melodically pleasing pieces that comforted them in their childhood.

Arguably the most important aspect of music is sound.

List of silent musical compositions