What do we understand as the differences between noise and sound? We often use the word noise in a derogatory fashion to mean something that we find unpleasant or unwanted, but the circumstances seem to change when something is just a sound and when it becomes noise. For example, when we hear a large group of people having conversations with each other, the overview of the whole room is probably just noise but yet, to each of those individuals they are involved in a personal and valuable conversation.
What do we then make of John Cage’s own 4″33 with the ‘noises’ that are supposed to happen during the performance where these are considered to be part and parcel of that performance – have these noises now become sound because they are within the framework of a piece of music or is it exactly as Cage says; that he is using noise to make music?
Can any or any part of a piece of music be considered noise rather than a combination of sounds? Do we manipulate noise to become a sound that is tolerable to be called music?
Staples Music 