In the composition of Fontana Mix, John Cage utilized chance operations to suspend the flow of time. The sounds for Fontana Mix were determined by the chance intersections of lines and dots on a series of transparencies. Transparencies with dots and curved lines were superimposed with a 100 x 20 matrix, also on transparency. A transparency with a single straight line was then laid down in a way that 1) two dots were connected and 2) the line intersected both of the long sides of the matrix. The intersections of the straight line and the curved lines determined the taped sound sample to be used for a given sound event. The absolute horizontal distance between the points of intersection of the graph and the straight line determined the duration of a single sound event.
The “Fontana Mix” that is delivered from this blog (on a random basis, I might add) is named in homage to Mr. Cage. My “Fontana Mix” is simply random events under a single headline or posting.