Composition Projects
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Programming Projects
SCuD
DISSCO

Research Projects
John Cage
Charles Ives

Current Projects
Lifebook
Temptations

This study describes the processes that John Cage used in the composition of Six Short Inventions, First Construction (in Metal), and Spontaneous Earth. With a lack of interest in John Cage’s early works, this study sheds light on the way in which these three early works are composed. In this study, the development of Cage’s square-root or micro-macrocosmic form is explored and then traced from the forms genesis to later modifications of the form. The centerpiece of the article is a description of the techniques used to create First Construction (in Metal). Using Cage’s correspondence with Pierre Boulez as a starting point, the organizational tools and methods are uncovered and traced throughout the piece. Six Short Inventions is found to be an embryonic piece that holds traces of many of the techniques that come into existence in First Construction (in Metal). Spontaneous Earth is used to follow the maturation of these techniques in Cage’s hands.