The Power of Silence

Sat in front of a piano and a blank piece of manuscript paper, John cage famously subjected his audience to 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Widely misunderstood as a deliberate provocation or a hoax, aimed at mocking the audience, its meaning is still debated. Whatever the supposed intention, I feel this Cagean silence acts as a catalyst for its listeners to expand the mind to the fact that all sounds are music. A deeper, perhaps more meaningful approach to listening. This notion of silence reminds me of an animated film I once saw called ‘The Red Turtle’ (dir. by Hayao Miyazaki). While the film is not silent, there is zero dialogue throughout. I found myself sitting in anticipation for the moment that the protagonist would utter his first words. But the moment never came. I think it may have served as an important lesson, much like Cage’s 4’33, to abandon expectation in the face of silence, freeing up your mind to its immersivity and in turn paying it the respect it deserves. To be truthful, there is no such thing as complete and utter silence on our planet, unless fabricated by some acoustic/ technological means. Which only shows that there is always something to tune into, whether we realise it or not.