John Cage: Three Dances for Two Prepared Pianos: No. 1

Question 1

Who was John Cage?

Answer 1

John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist

Question 2

What instrument is used in this piece?

Answer 2

Piano

Question 3

What has been done to the piano to change the timbre?

Answer 3

Cage experimented with inserting various everyday items between the strings of the notes. Most notes on a piano have three strings each. Only the bass strings have either two or one, so it’s easy to wedge items between the strings to affect the sound quality.

Question 4

What items did Cage use to change the timbre of the piano?

Answer 4

Cage specified items such as screws, rubbers, coins, bolts, pieces of plastic and a ‘weather strip’ (plastic items that help seal doors and windows from drafts).

Question 5

Describe the rhythm.

Answer 5

The music uses polyrhythm (simultaneous different types of rhythm) where for instance the first piano has groups of three quavers going across the bar line, while the second piano has a straightforward crotchet and off‐ beat quaver rhythm in 2/2 metre (two minims to a bar – simple duple time).

Question 6

Describe the dynamics.

Answer 6

There is a forzando accent at the beginning, and numerous accent marks. There are a number of crescendos, e.g. figure 9. Cage uses dynamic surprise, as at figure 38 where we suddenly have ff fortissimo markings after a piano passage. A more powerful effect is achieved by using pianissimo followed by rests then a sudden fortissimo, as just before the final sections at 64/73.