Silence
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Silence is a relative or total lack of sound. An environment with sound below 20 decibels is considered quiet or silent.
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Gestures of silence
Placing the index finger in front of closed lips[1] is the most widely recognized gesture of silence. The gesture can be used to demand silence without raising one's own voice.
Visual representation of silence
In music
- "It's Oh So Quiet" by Bjork, list of silent musical compositions
Music inherently depends on silence in some form or another to distinguish other periods of sound and allow dynamics, melodies and rhythms to have greater impact. For example, most music scores feature rests denoting periods of silence.
Some composers take the use of silence in music to an extreme. 4′33″ is an experimental musical work by avant-garde composer John Cage. Though first performed on the piano, the piece was composed for any instrument or instruments and is structured in three movements. The length of each movement is not fixed by the composer, but the total length of the combination of three movements is.
Socially
In Western cultures, it is sometimes difficult to interpret the meaning of a person who is silent (not speaking). It can mean anger, hostility, disinterest, or other emotions. Because of this, many in some Western cultures feel uneasy when one party is silent, and usually try their best to fill up the silence with small talk.
Namesakes
- Le Silence [3] by Odilon Redon (1840–1916)
- The Silence (Fuseli) [4]
Dicta
See also
- 4′33″
- Background noise
- Code of silence
- Humming
- Monastic silence
- Omertà
- Pinter pause
- Retreat for the religious meaning of silence.
- Silent film
- Stillness
- Quiet
- Secrecy
- Vow of silence