Reading Blog #2

In the article, Searching for Silence, by Alex Ross, I thought it was very interesting to read about a different perspective on music. The way John Cage viewed music was definitely not common with how most people see it. But I do agree with him that when individuals see someone walking up to the piano the usual response from others is that they are expecting him/her to start playing. Before reading this article, I only looked at music as a form that requires instruments or an artist's singing to be considered a piece. His approach with music was very different but I actually agree with his reason. Most of the time, individuals listen to music because they want to relax or just listen to something. Well when I meditate I would rather listen to nature then listening to a song because I find that more peaceful, part of the reason I do that is because I can’t remember the last time I completely heard silence. In my everyday life I am so distracted with what I am doing that I forget I am still able to hear people talking in social settings, the sound of cars driving, hear crickets late at night, etc so I like to take the time to appreciate life. In the article he saids, “music is the human ears” (Ross, Paragraph 3). I agree with his statement because music does not only have to be in a form of using instruments but music can be anything from silence to listening to crickets.