Instrumentation:

bassoon, snare drum, vibraphone

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Duration:

3 minutes

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Program Note:

My inspiration for It’s just sounds? came from my composition teacher Dorothy Hindman, who showed me an interview with John Cage from the documentary Listen (1992). I remember being inspired by it after watching it, but I didn’t really think much about it until about half a year later, when writing this piece. I had the idea to compose something that made use of the natural music that is present in speech, and I couldn’t think of a better excerpt to use than this recording of John Cage. My piece starts out with a simple imitation of the his voice in the bassoon, and gradually elements are taken away from it, starting with the words. The next element to go is pitch, which disappears when I transfer the melody to the snare drum. Finally, even the rhythm is removed and the piece becomes formless, leaving only background noise.