Food, one assumes, provides nourishment; but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction.
John CageRead
If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being selective about what you appreciate can limit your experiences.
John Cage's quote suggests that cultivating a preference for certain 'musical' sounds can lead to a narrow perspective on the world. Just as developing an ego can restrict one's openness to diverse experiences, a refined taste in music can result in a refusal to acknowledge the value in non-musical sounds, thereby limiting one's overall life experiences and understanding.
Themes
MusicExperiencePerceptionOpen-MindednessSelectivity
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of open-mindedness in the arts.
More from John Cage
All quotes →Which is more musical: a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school?
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There was a German philosopher who is very well known, his name was Immanuel Kant, and he said there are two things that don’t have to mean anything, one is music and the other is laughter. Don’t have to mean anything that is, in order to give us deep pleasure.
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I remember loving sound before I ever took a music lesson. And so we make our lives by what we love.
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I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.
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People who aren't artists often feel that artists are inspired. But if you work at your art you don't have time to be inspired.
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