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    1948 – John Cage classifies the elements comprising a musical work as follows (1):

    1) Structure, which divides the whole into successive parts,

    2) Material, which is composed of sound and silence,

    3) Method, which controls the succession of materials,

    4) Form, which is the content of the work created from the combination of above three elements.

    Composition is defined accordingly as the synthesizing act of all these elements. However, the only element Cage permitted the total control of the composer was structure. The degree of control upon material and method, he claimed, varied according to circumstances, while form was placed in opposition to structure as an element which defies any kind of intentional manipulation.

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