John Cage Essay

John Cage was one of the artists who moved the furthest away from â€Å"tradition. † Cage himself says that he was trying to accomplish what Ives wanted many years before: to be able to sit on the back doorstep at sundown, listening to the music. In continuing and expanding the Ivesian tradition, Cage shattered the old notions of music as organized sound consisting of melody, harmony, and rhythm (Nicholls, 2007). He wondered why music had to be these things. His questioning led to new concepts of how musical elements could be freed from the restraints imposed on them by conventional thinking. Most music contains only a few of the available pitches. Melody in its most elementary sense draws attention to a single line, which is a rather primitive way of perceiving music. Rhythm in which eventsoccur â€Å"in time† is also limiting. Why, within a particular space of time, can an event not happen at any point, its rhythmic aspects thus being freed from time in the more traditional sense? As Cage puts it: â€Å"In a painting an image can go anywhere on the canvas. Why can’t a rhythm do the same thing within the framework of a piece of music? † Cage’s revolutionary ideas have led to many innovations. He is usually credited with having invented â€Å"chance music,† music created under conditions that leave certain of its parts to the vagaries of the moment (Nicholls, 2007). Virgil Thomson notes that chance in composition is rather like a kaleidoscope, and â€Å"what kaleidoscopes and arabesques lack is urgency† (Grant, 2001, p. 243). The music may not always have this quality, a condition that can ultimately hinder its expression in purely musical terms. But there is a new kind of musical awareness, a vitality of thought and of imagination. Cage has redefined the entire concept of direction in music, since he has not been particularly interested in where events are going. Rather, he is more intrigued with the moment and with the possibilities of what can happen during that moment. Cage has also thought about music’s purpose, deciding that actually there does not have to be any intent, that sounds alone can be the purpose. He says that â€Å"a sound accomplishes nothing; without it life would not last out the instant†( Pritchett, 1996). His aesthetic that everything is music is important, for it opens countless possibilities. Cage’s ideas have made a generation of composers rethink concepts that were taken too much for granted or were ruled out of musical consideration by previous generations. These concepts have, in fact, furthered music beyond its old boundaries. Many of Cage’s works are famous because of the revolutionary concepts that formed them. The composition for piano that consists of four minutes, thirty-three seconds of silence, 4? 3? , is a case in point. To dismiss the work as a gimmick or as insignificant because it really is not music is to miss the point. Composers have pondered the silences in music in previous ages, but it took Cage to realize that silence itself was an opportunity for a complete work and a complete experience. According to Cage, silence is deciding in favor of sounds that are not intended. And Cage feels that silence has philosophical overtones, for it strikes the foundations of the ego. 4? 33? is a difficult work, for there is so much to hear–nothing–and it is a memorable experience, for it shows a world of multiplicity, something that interests Cage far more than aspects of unity within a particular work (Pritchett, 1996). Because anything is possible in Cage’s compositional process, some works are highly organized, while others give an outward impression of random and unrelated orderings. Most of his early pieces, among them the 5 Songs for Contralto (1938) and the Quartet for Twelve Tom-Toms (1943), are carefully conceived and conventionally notated. Music of Changes (1951) was created with the aid of the Chinese book of changes, I Ching, one of Cage’s favorite aids in the evolution of a work (Pritchett, 1996). In addition to his novel approaches to the general aspects of composition, Cage utilizes fascinating â€Å"instruments† in some of hispieces. He has written compositions containing parts for brake drums. He has composed music for toy piano. Cage, in fact, has not rejected any possibility if that possibility has an intriguing sound. Thus, the amplified sound of water being swallowed, of a glass breaking or clinking, and of a balloon bursting are excellent sources, as good in their way as a piano or a trombone (Kostelanetz, 1991). Cage’s love of both conventional and unconventional sounds has made him reconsider the various traditional instruments and how they can be changed to produce a new result. One of these investigations resulted in the â€Å"prepared piano,† which consists of objects such as nails, bolts, pins, and other materials placed between the strings of a piano, creating a diversity of different timbres. Henry Cowell had experimented with various possibilities of piano sonorities earlier in the century, including playing on the inside of the instrument, and Cage was undoubtedly influenced by some of Cowell’s discoveries. But in most respects, Cage’s is an original concept. As a result of his pioneering efforts, the prepared piano is for all practical purposes a new instrument, reminiscent of a Balinese gamelan orchestra (Kostelanetz, 1991). Another unusual effect occurs in The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, a song for voice and piano in which the pianist plays on the piano lid and on various other wooden parts of the instrument rather than on the keys. The piano, in other words, has many sound possibilities from which Cage has realized a diversity of new and unusual timbres (Pritchett, 1996). Cage has been accused of being narrow-minded, of only working with novelties and current avant-garde fashions. This is untrue. Cage actually is an important figure whose mind is an open one and whose â€Å"novelty-fashions† in their total implications are significant and even visionary. They are not fraudulent, nor are they aimed at the destruction of Western musical civilization, although Cage has been accused of that and of just about everything else by his critics. The problem is simply that to the casual observer Cage’s music is undisciplined. But this is also false. In some of his works chance itself is the discipline, a â€Å"method† that is used to bring about that which is not necessarily intended. The compositional premises behind one of Cage’s latest works, the Etudes Australes, is proof that there is a definite method behind chance procedures and that the results can present as unified a whole as if more conventional methods of organization had been employed (Patterson, 2001). Cage reports that the pieces created the impression of serial music to some listeners, and indeed the uncompromising aspects of the method of creation and the resulting combinations of pitches from that procedure would undoubtedly give an audience an impression of â€Å"twelve-tone† writing. Strictly speaking, of course, it is usually impossible to tell if a work is serial simply by listening to it (Cage, 1966). Yet this association proves a point, for to mistake the chance operations of Cage for serial procedures is to demonstrate that two different â€Å"methods† can produce similar aural results. For a serial composer, serial procedures provide the answers to most of the compositional questions and to the continuity within a particular piece. For Cage, chance operations answer the compositional questions, and from these procedures a continuity of musical expression develops. One of Cage’s literary methods is a further example of the logical use of chance operations. In trying to find a title for a book of writings that in a typical Cage manner contains a liberal sprinkling of absurdities. Cage subjected the twenty-six letters of the alphabet to a chance operation with the help of the I Ching. The letter â€Å"m† was the winner, and the book was subsequently entitled M. Although any letter would have worked as well, Cage noted that â€Å"m† was a good choice and particularly appropriate because it begins the names of many of his favorite people and things, among them music, mushrooms, Modern Music, and Mao Tse-tung. It was an absurd method for choosing an absurd title for a book of absurdities! Another aspect of Cage’s writing demonstrates more positive and visionary qualities of his music. Prelude for Meditation for Prepared Piano Solo (1944) is early Cage, and the preparation of the piano involves stove bolts and wood screws(Patterson, 2001). This piece, like 4? 33? , can be viewed initially and superficially as one event–a monolith. Within this monolithic experience is an inner world of relationships, of sounds and events that reach far beyond the two pitch classes that Cage employs. The philosophical concept behind a work such as this is simple: why should a piece of music begin, develop itself in intricate ways, and prove itself by an infinite variety that keeps an interest going in the work itself? Why should the variety not be of a different kind? A piece of music can simply suspend itself in time, although time itself is usually conceived as a terribly limiting artistic commodity. Pieces begin and pieces end. What about what is before the beginning and after the ending? Time, itself a measured fragment of eternity, is always there on either side of an experience of any kind, and, in effect, what happens within the time of a work need not always make the time pass but rather might make it exist within a vacuum, within a world of monolithic yet many-faceted events. Cage’s work is an early example of what has become a new aspect of musical experience. Other composers began thinking about the possibilities of the monolith, and numerous examples have been written in the last quarter of a century. La Monte Young Composition 1960 #7 is a case in point. The work consists of two pitch classes, a B and an F-sharp (the relationship to Cage Prelude for Meditation is obvious), which the composer says should be held â€Å"for a long time. † In 1961 the work was played in New York by a string trio, and the forty-five minute duration of that particular reading resulted in â€Å"a whole world of fluctuating overtones† for those who were willing to listen (Patterson, 2001). Experimental composers are not nearly as outrageous as their critics might think. Even a work that attempts by its chance procedures or other random methods of construction to be formless still achieves a form, which, in turn, expands our conception of â€Å"form. † For example, if a composer writes some musical fragments on notecards, shuffles the cards, and then plays the music in the order in which it appears, there will be many different orderings but always the same music, rearranged each time. If one writes a chance piece for ten players with ten instruments, there is a limitation in the fact that the performers are ten, that the instruments are ten, and that the efforts are taking place within an inescapable time span. A composer cannot, in other words, achieve complete freedom, complete formlessness, for that is an impossibility. What a composer can do is achieve a new musical result. References Cage, John. (1966). Silence: Lectures and Writings. The MIT Press; New Ed edition. Grant, Mark N. (2001). Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in America. Northeastern University Press. Kostelanetz, Richard. (1991). John Cage: An Anthology. Da Capo Press. Nicholls, David. (2007). John Cage (American Composers). University of Illinois Press. Patterson, David W. (2001). John Cage: Music, Philosophy, and Intention, 1933-1950 (Studies in Contemporary Music Andculture). Routledge; 1 edition. Pritchett, James. (1996). The Music of John Cage (Music in the Twentieth Century). Cambridge University Press.

Regulation and Pizza Hut Essay

School cafeterias served nearly $500 million of pizza a year. Only frozen pizza was used, however, because freshly prepared pizza was effectively excluded by a U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation that required inspection of any pizza with meat toppings that was sold at wholesale for resale. The same was true for other institutions such as hospitals and prisons. The 39 broader issue was the closure of the institutional market to freshly-prepared foods such as pizza and other fast foods. Pizza Hut’s overall business strategy was to become a â€Å"pizza distribution† company, and the institutional market was crucial to that strategy. According to Roger Rydell of Pizza Hut, schools were â€Å"‘a potentially enormous business for us. †¦ We’d like to have every one of our [4,000] delivery-capable units nationwide serving at least one school. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1 Since Pizza Hut was excluded from the institutional market by the USDA regulation, the task before Pizza Hut was to develop a nonmarket strategy to modify this regulation to allow school cafeterias and ultimately other institutions to order fresh pizza. There were two basic institutional arenas in which Pizza Hut could address this nonmarket foreclosure of a market. One was the regulatory apparatus of the USDA. From the perspective of a bureaucracy such as the USDA, an exemption from its meat inspection responsibilities would be required. It seems unlikely that the USDA would want to weaken its own inspection program. Indeed, the opponents of an exemption for fresh pizza, as led by the National Frozen Pizza Institute, sought to have the contentious issue resolved by the USDA. A resolution in that institutional arena would necessitate an extensive administrative process requiring public hearings, publication of proposed regulations in the Federal Register, a comment period, possible adoption of an exemption, and possible legal challenge in the federal courts by the losing side. This process would likely be quite lengthy. (See Chapter 10 for a discussion of this process. ) Pizza Hut first attempted to obtain a USDA exemption without an administrative process but failed in its attempt. The second institutional arena was Congress, which could enact legislation to overturn regulations. Pizza Hut worked through Congress to include a provision in a 1991 agriculture bill that would allow fresh pizza to be purchased by school cafeterias without USDA inspection. The amendment directed the USDA to issue regulations by August 1992 allowing fresh pizza with meat toppings to be sold to private and public institutions. 2 Pizza Hut had headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, and Representative Dan Glickman, whose district includes Wichita, commented that the USDA regulation was â€Å"a Byzantine, outdated and, quite honestly, an anti-competitive regulatory structure. †3. One question was whether this issue was resolved by interest group politics or by some public policy process based on a careful study of the costs and benefits. The opposition, for example, argued that an exemption posed a health hazard, whereas Pizza Hut argued that precooked toppings such as pepperoni had already undergone two inspections—one at the processing plant and one earlier at the slaughterhouse. These arguments likely had little effect on the decision other than to convince members of Congress that there was no health hazard in fresh pizza sold to institutions. This issue was ultimately resolved through interest group politics, with Pizza Hut and other fast-food chains backing the exemption and frozen pizza interests opposing it. 1 Wall Street Journal, November 29, 1991. 2 Wall Street Journal, November 29, 1991. 3 San Francisco Chronicle, November 28, 1991. Assignment Questions (30%): 1. What is/are the real issue based on the case study? (2 marks) 2. Describe the 4I’s based on the Pizza Hut Case Study. (8 marks) 3. Describe the roles of news media in this case study. (10 marks) 4. From the case study, where those issues are in their life cycles? Discuss. (10 marks).

Of Mice and Men Foreshadowing Essay

Of Mice and Men is a Novella written By: John Steinbeck. This book is about two friends who face the challenges of humanity and the world around them. In the novella of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to give the reader hints or clues about other events in the story. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing with the event of the Killing of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap†, and Curley harassing Lennie throughout the novella. One example of foreshadowing is when Carlson kills Candy’s dog. And this foreshadows that George will kill Lennie, because they were both put out of their misery, and that when Candy said â€Å"I ought of shot that dog myself† (61). And when George kills Lennie at the end of the book they both wanted to kill them by their selves even though George did do it himself. If George didn’t kill Lennie himself he would hav ended up getting tortured and killed by someone else he just felt better if he had did it himself Another example of how John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing is when they say that Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap† that fore shadows that Lennie will talk to her and might go farther and end up touching her more roughly because he likes soft things and doesn’t like to let go like he did in WEED and ended up getting ran out of WEED. So when Curley’s wife lets Lennie touch her soft hair that was a bad decision on her part because he kept getting rougher and when she tries to say stop and go away Lennie won’t let go. So Curley’s wife screams and Lennie gets scared and then grabs her and tells her to stop but in the process he snaps her neck because he doesn’t know his own strength he can’t control it. Finally, foreshadowing can be seen when Curley harasses Lennie for not talking and because he is bigger than him. That foreshadows that they might get into a disagreement or an argument possibly a fight. So when George was talking for Lennie, Curley said â€Å"let the big guy talk â€Å". But earlier that day George told Candy ,†well he better watch out for Lennie, he aint no fighter but he is strong as a bull† (27). Because Lennie is very strong. Curley doesn’t like bigger guys which Lennie is. So I drew a conclusion that they will most likely fight which they do and Curley was beating Lennie until George told Lennie â€Å"GET HIM!† Lennie crushed his hand because of his uncontrollable strength he has. John Steinbeck uses many examples of Foreshadowing in Of Mice And Men. Foreshadowing gives the readers hints or clues throughout the story. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing mostly with George and Lennie. All these examples of foreshadowing lead to the death of Lennie and the failure of a dream. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing with the event of the Killing of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap†, and Curley harassing Lennie throughout the novella.

Procedural programming languages and object oriented programming Essay - 1

Procedural programming languages and object oriented programming language - Essay Example Procedural programming languages are those that follow the procedural paradigm for programming as is evident. The procedural approach basically guides to transform processes into procedure. First the processes are identified, and then they are broken down into smaller processes which finally shape into procedures. There are several limitations in the procedural approach like extension and re-usability of code is quite limited because of its nature as compared to the object oriented approach, where objects can be reused, updated and redesigned without having adverse effects on overall system functionality. Furthermore, code management also becomes challenging because of its sequential nature. Several object oriented languages offer program solutions based on the object oriented paradigm like Java, C++, .Net, Ada, SmallTalk etc. One of the most important aspects of OOP languages is dynamic binding or late binding. OOP offers a rather different approach than procedural approach. The process of abstraction is managed by objects. Every process will be broken into inter object interactions. OOP languages supports objects, classes, instances, method, message, inheritance, subtype principle etc (Aaby Pg. 968). Class inheritance allows the member attributes and functions of one class to be used as if they were members of a second class. Inheritance is one of the primary characteristics of OO programing (Lippman, Pg. 391). In OOP methodology a system basically consists on interactions of objects and each object has to perform its own responsibility after that the responsibility is delegated to other objects. This delegation of responsibility is through the messages. In OOP methodology the system analysis and design consists of the following steps: Object definition or classes basically describe the objects. The class or object definition consist of properties/ attributes

Personality & Emotional Developement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personality & Emotional Developement - Essay Example These include communication, critical thinking, and creativity. Communication enables a child to explore the surrounding by asking questions and in turn get feedback. Through communication, one is able to express opinions and feelings in a comprehensive and social manner, and therefore, enhance development. Secondly, is critical thinking as another social skill that enhances social development. Critical thinking enables an individual to evaluate the activities that he or she engages in, and the manner in which tasks involved are accomplished. Critical thinking in turn enables one to make substantive determinations before engaging in any task. By developing such skills, such individuals are able to identify various aspects about a task and adopt means of accomplishment. Lastly, is the skill of creativity. Children with the ability to generate new ideas towards various aspects indeed develop faster socially and easily incorporated into the society (Hagan, 2003). Family setups also influence communication, critical thinking, and creativity in a child’s development. First, is the aspect of unity in families, which contribute significantly towards the positive development of a child. Unity enables a child to communicate freely with the parents and siblings because of the conducive environment. Unity also influences the sharing of ideas among family members and hence initiates the development of new ideas through creativity. Critical thinking skills are also developed when individuals desire a common goal, an aspect of family unity. Care in a family also influences development of children socially. Communication enhances the chances of care and support from family members. Children develop critical thinking skills and become creative when proper care is provided in the family. This provides a calm environment in which a child is able to develop better thinking skills. As much as the family environment

Relating to video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Relating to video - Essay Example While this particular film is able to provide an overview to the current conflicts and the complexities of the region, there is still the need to move further into the history of Jerusalem and the practice of religions that continue to dominate over the region. Historical Feedback of Film There are several balanced points with the history of the film, as well as limitations in recounting the realities of the three faiths in Jerusalem. Generally, the narrative of including the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religion into one film is one which defines an equal balance. The viewer is able to see how each of the dynamics between the religions works within the region and represents a component of life among those that are involved in Jerusalem. More important, the timing for each one, personal stories and the link to the basic history of the development of the religions is balanced. The viewer is able to get an overview of what occurred in the region as well as how this has affected others that are living in the region today. The concept of balancing the history is one which is also seen as effective in terms of relating the 4000 year history to today. The narrators are able to show how the long history can be traced back by all of the religions. This, in turn, becomes a reason behind the conflicts today. Most of the historical conflicts become ingrained with each of the generations, religious beliefs and the aspects that are associated with the region. These are combined with an understanding of how some of the central conflicts, because of their deeply rooted problems with obtaining the Holy Land, have led to continuous misunderstandings at a social, political and individual viewpoint. The video is able to interpret this specific understanding of history clearly and effectively. This specific balance then gives the viewer a general insight into the complexities of both history and the current day conflicts that are a part of the region. While there is a balance fro m this perspective in terms of the historical feedback, there are also several elements that limit what is told from all three perspectives. The first type of imbalance is from the timing of the video. This doesn’t provide in – depth insight into the historical findings, different interpretations and other livelihoods of what has occurred within all three religions. Instead, it skims the surface of what is occurring and creates a generalized dynamic about the specific region. When one moves into the deeper history of Jerusalem or looks at other aspects or perspectives, different pieces of information may be found that are either contradictory or which provide further insight outside of what the film offers. The imbalance between stories continues with the perspective which is taken in terms of the audience. The historical component is to look at how the 4000 year old history has affected Jerusalem and created roots of conflict in the city. This is followed by the persp ectives which show the deeply rooted opinions and behaviors of those who are in the city. The movement into the roots and the examination of how the ideals are today leads to a gap in the history. There is an understanding of what has occurred in the beginning and how this has changed today. However, there are other layers of history

What is Performance Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

What is Performance Management - Assignment Example By setting a standard process of performance, employees know what is expected of them, and understand the responsibilities in which they are accountable. Performance of employees needs to be monitored regularly as well to know how well they are doing their job. Regular monitoring is needed so that remedial measures can be acted upon immediately to reduce wastes and costs if work is found unacceptable. Value to management Results of monitoring determine the kind of development and training an employee needs. Training can be given to an employee to prepare his/her for higher responsibilities or just to improve his/her skills in her present work. At the end of the evaluation period that is usually set and agreed by employee and supervisor, a rating is given to the individual employee. A rating becomes an overall comparison between periods of performances to no improvement. Management, at times, compares the overall performances of employees. A top rating performer is usually rewarded by management with awards and incentives, usually done on a year to year basis.  An example is the top achiever award for sales in the company which is awarded cash incentives.  Business behavior means ethical behavior in the conduct of business usually governed by the principles of right and wrongs of human conduct. In business, it is defined as the moral values governing business behavior and restrains companies from pursuing the interest of the shareholder at the expense of all other considerations†. I have inferred this law as the â€Å"Cause and Effect† that covers the â€Å"laws of belief, expectations, attraction, and correspondence† (Tracy, B. 2002). These, I believe, are unbreakable, because it rationalizes causes why one is successful and an achiever, it gives justification for one’s status of happiness, and why there are prosperity and poverty in life. It is argued that when one believes truly in oneself and with firm resolve, this will become a reality. For instance, in starting a business, one should truly believe that it will succeed, therefore, he puts everything in all honesty, his best inputs.