What would happen if you went to a concert and the musician didn't play a single note? In 1952, composer John Cage created a very unusual piece of music called 4'33". The performer sits quietly and doesn't deliberately play their instrument for four minutes and 33 seconds. So… is it really music? Cage wanted people to listen carefully to all the sounds around them. You might hear someone cough, a chair move, birds outside, rain or people whispering. Suddenly, sounds that you normally ignore become part of the music. Cage was asking a big question: Can silence be music?

Why not try it yourself? Sit quietly for one minute and listen. You might be surprised by how much you can hear.