Part 1 Summary and Analysis

"Forward" The author introduces the writings in this collection by explaining that they were written and presented in ways deliberately chosen to be non-traditional (as opposed to the traditional manner of a presenter reading his/her text from beginning to end following a linear structure of thought and idea). He writes that this approach was influenced by "Dada" and "Zen" (see "Objects/Places" and "Quotes—Forward"), commenting that the influence of both seems to have waned at the time of writing (the mid-20th Century).

"The Future of Music: Credo" (1937) This lecture has two components. The first (printed in all caps) is intercut with the main body of the text (standard type) and expresses the lecture's main idea—that in the future, all sounds can and will be electronically reproducible and usable in music. He goes on to suggest...