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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Meister Eckhart said in sermons that he would like to be rid of what?

2. In what year did Cage and Merce Cunningham begin working together?

3. In what state does Cage say he grew up?

4. What item of clothing did Cage wear to visit the dentist, which the dentist asked him to remove?

5. In the introduction to "Four Statements on the Dance," Cage recalls seeing unhappiness in what man's face because his music was rarely performed?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Cage think an evolution of music due to percussion instruments will affect dancers and choreographers?

2. Why did Vera Williams' children cry when she served them mushrooms on their steak?

3. Where did Cage get the idea to write "Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?"

4. What happened when Cage attended a party to which he was not invited and asked the hostess for rum to drink?

5. How did Cage and David Tudor react when food shipped to them from India came in all mixed up?

6. How does the author think music will evolve in regard to percussion instruments?

7. How did Cage come to be in possession of a coat belonging to Ms. Reis?

8. How is the essay "Lecture on Nothing" formatted?

9. What happened when Cage told a technician during a recording session what to expect from his music?

10. In the third layer of "Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?", what does Cage say about where "we are going"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the first-person perspective used in the book. How would Cage's lessons on music and art be different if they were written from a third-person perspective, like they would be in a text book? What could the reader gain from a less personal perspective? What is gained from the first-person perspective that Cage uses instead?

Essay Topic 2

How does Cage compare modern dance to classic styles of dance? What do classic styles have that modern dance lacks? What balance does he say needs to be created for modern dance to work? What point is Cage making about the move to more modern ideas?

Essay Topic 3

Explore the author's feelings on the nature of sound. What does Cage say about sound in "Experimental Music: Doctrine"? What does he say about the nature of sound? What does he say about interpreting it?

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