Feb. 5, 1970
Dear Francis Leach,
Thank you for your letter & review.
If you look at my article in "Silence" called
Forerunners of Modern Music, my use below of
the words form, structure, & method will be
clear, I hope.
I now believe and have given many examples
in music (since my Music of Changes) that
chance (I Ching) may provide not only
method but structure & form too. In the
case of 12- tone music, very often only
method (note to note or procedure) is provided,
structure being relatively conventional (as in
much Schoenberg). I believe that chance operations
constitute a thorough discipline, removing likes
& dislikes of the ego & opening the music & the composer to
the world around him whether musical or not.
Your 2nd ? re spiritual forces controlling I Ching:
There is no split between body & spirit.
We are one in and out. "Earth
has no escape from Heaven."
I have not heard music in a dream or if
so have not listened in a way to become
interested in it. I hear things when they're
audible.
Yes, music sometimes runs through my head
without my willing it. This is one of
the things that annoys me about music.
With best wishes
to you,
John Cage