Listening vs. Hearing
We began with a deceptively simple question: What is the difference between listening and hearing?
We “hear” all the time. But listening requires intention and awareness.
In class, we created sound by crumpling paper and making small noises. Then we stopped and sat in silence for 15 seconds. In that silence, we noticed fading resonance, breathing sounds, distant noise outside, and subtle movements in the room. The room was not silent at all. This exercise became the foundation for everything that followed.
John Cage – 4'33"
Jongah introduced John Cage’s 4'33" (1952). The piece consists of three movements and lasts four minutes and thirty-three seconds. The performer walks on stage, sits, marks the beginning of each movement, and does not play a single note.
But the space is not silent. The audience becomes part of the music — coughing, shuffling, air-conditioning, distant traffic, breathing. The piece forces us to ask: What are we actually listening to? What is music? What is sound? What is noise?
As a teacher, I realised how powerful this could be in a classroom setting. Simply asking students, “What did you hear?” can transform their awareness.
Sound vs. Noise
We explored the difference between sound and noise. I initially felt that noise is irritating and unpleasant, while music feels intentional. But if a composer intentionally writes an unpleasant sound, is it still noise?
Music is not defined by pleasantness. It is defined by intention. If a sound is consciously designed and shaped, it becomes music.
Anton Webern and the 12-Tone World
We then listened to Anton Webern, who worked with the 12-tone technique developed by Schoenberg. In this system, there is no tonal hierarchy — no tonic, no dominant, no home. Every pitch is equal.
At first, it felt disorienting. There was no melody to hold on to. But historically, this reflected a philosophical shift after the World Wars. Composers questioned hierarchy in society and in music. It was not randomness — it was intentional rethinking.
Graphic Notation – When the Score Looks Like Art
We explored graphic notation, where scores do not use traditional five-line staves. Boxes indicated register (high, middle, low), numbers indicated how many sounds to produce, and tempo ranges were suggested.
The performer decides the exact pitches, dynamics, articulation, and phrasing. When Jongah played it casually, it sounded random. When I played it with conscious shaping, breathing, and intention, it became music.
The notes did not change. My intention did.
Making Music vs. Playing Notes
This was the most important takeaway for me as a teacher. Students can play correct notes and rhythms, but they may not truly be listening.
Contemporary music strips away the comfort of melody and harmony and exposes whether we are thinking, shaping, and deciding. The key question is always: How do you make this into music?
Final Reflection
Before this class, I sometimes wondered whether certain contemporary performances were music or noise. Now I ask a different question: Was it intentional? Was it shaped? Was it consciously created?
If the answer is yes, then it is music. As performers and educators, our role is not merely to produce sound, but to transform sound into music.
