As to Cage's precision and discipline, on one Wednesday afternoon I walked in and he was leaning and crouching over a large map of Manhattan that was lying on the floor of his studio floor. As always, the light was minimal, as he kind of bristled at incandescent lighting and preferred the natural shadows of incoming sunlight.
I stood there for a long time, in silence just watching him work, remembering Archimedes last words. Finally, I asked him "What are you doing?
He looked up warmly, no more than eight years old, and said impishly smiling "I am making Waltzes".
There were pieces of smooth backed tape, in various lengths, that would be connected to another piece of tape, of the same color, and secured to the map of Manhattan. The end point of one piece of tape would be the start of a walking tour to hear (or record) the sounds in that borough. At the vertex you would change directions and walk in the direction of the second piece of tape, stopping at it's end point. The two endpoints and the vertex constitute three spatial directions and hence...a waltz.
I knew we weren't going to get anything done that day and I went home.
"John Cage's Graphic Score The innovative and influential American composer John Cage created a graphic score called “49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs” as a tribute to the ever- changing city of New York. He superimposed 49 triangles on a map of New York City, using chance means to determine the locations of each angle. The listener or recorder was invited go to the apex of each angle and listen to or record the sounds of the city in that place."
Rolling Stone Magazine, 1977.