Topics in Sound (373-0-20)
Topic
John Cage's 'A Dip in the Lake'
Instructors
Stephan Michael Moore
Meeting Info
Louis Hall 105: Tues 4:00PM - 6:50PM
Overview of class
In 1978, John Cage applied chance operations to a map of the city of Chicago to identify 427 discrete locations, then organized them into small groups to create a new, geographic score. Titled "A Dip In the Lake", the piece is designated "for listener(s) or performer(s) or record maker(s)" but lacks any further performance instructions. In this class we will wrestle with what it means to realize such a composition. In the course of our inquiry, we will both contribute recordings to, and draw source material from, a cumulative database of field recordings from the piece's 427 identified sites. We will meet one of the organizers of the New Music America 1982 festival where the piece was premiered. We'll learn about John Cage and the music of the 20th Century Avant-Garde, as well as the geography of the city of Chicago and environs. Ultimately, we will try our hand at creating performances, recordings, and/or installation works that interpret and realize "A Dip In The Lake".
Registration Requirements
There are no prerequisites for this class. All students are welcome, regardless of previous experience or musical ability.
Learning Objectives
• Understand central aspects and practices of the avant-garde music scene of the late 20th Century, centering around the 1982 New Music America Festival in Chicago, and the career of the composer John Cage.
• Use a variety of strategies to interpret musical scores that employ text instructions or non-traditional notation, and execute realizations of these scores.
• Engage with the urban soundscape of Chicago, through sound maps and field recordings.
Evaluation Method
Students will be graded on their attendance and participation in class activities and discussions. In addition, there will be two class presentations, a group project, and a final project.
Class Materials (Required)
Students will use basic field recording equipment in this course, either owned by them or checked out from the Louis Hall cage. All other materials, texts, etc. will be provided or will be available for checkout.
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Students must have completed RTVF 190-0 in order to register for this course (concurrent registration is not allowed)