I’d never really listened to the music of John Cage before, but this morning while experimenting with cymatics frequency patterns and violin music by various artists on last.fm I discovered that his music makes very beautiful, clear cymatics frequency patterns.
The piece here being played through the metal plate is “beautiful things” and you may notice that the frequency patterns look like a series of flower petals.
In this video I was using my iphone and a small amp and driver to create the frequency patterns. The metal plate is 20″x20″ steel, very thin (about the weight of metal flashing), powder coated. It is filmed with a flip camera.
John Cage’s music and the goals he was pursuing with it has certain things in common with the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, the experimental composer who once said,
“How far can we go in making music irregular? Only as far as a small moment when everything falls into synchronicity, and the goes away into different meters and rhythms.”
Karlheinz Stockhausen composed some pieces to include harmonic chanting, or throat singing, and throat singing is one of the best ways to generate cymatics frequency patterns also, as the overtones create some interesting and complex patterns.
If you would like to learn how to create cymatics frequency patterns with your voice, you can learn how to build a simple cymatic sounder with these free step-by-step video lessons.
To learn more about the music of John Cage, go here.
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Jodina
I have been interested in John Cage but have actually have not heard much of his music. Hearing that piece and literally seeing it on the cymatic plate was an awesome experience. I just had a poetry reading tonight and some people were amazed at the way I had typed the poems out on tabloid paper ( 11 x 17 inches) so I could increase the font size to able me to read the print easier. I am just saying this because I think it realates to a profound connection between seeing and hearing of which you are well aware. Thank you for sharing that piece…I am so swamped with art poetry and music that my experimenting with cymatics has slowed. I shared about it with a few friends and will be linking one up with your site here…It’s amazing how many people are unaware of Cymatics…well take care and thanks again.
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contrailflyer Reply:
October 1st, 2010 at 1:26 am
David, this must be you (your mentioning your reading, and that you linked someone up to this site – must be me!) Is it too surprising that I’d find you on the John Cage page, where I find myself within hours of first exploring this site?
I’m with you, fascinated – and this is a great site and resource.
M.
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