49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs

How can I find a waltz to contribute to?

The easiest way is to visit the big map, which includes all 147 addresses with links back to their individual pages.

You can also save this handy Foursquare list of all of the addresses for when you're out and about.

We have also organized the waltzes by borough, and by number, showing how many submissions are already there.

What are the requirements?

The only requirement is that whatever you do, it takes place at the address Cage listed.

Well, then what should I do?

Anything you want really, take a video on your phone, take some photos, make an audio recording, play a waltz, or just listen. The instructions Cage gives are only an instrumentation: for Performer(s) or Listener(s) or Record Maker(s) — let your imagination run wild, or just go to an address and see what strikes you.

And then how do I send you stuff?

The best way to send us video is to upload it to your YouTube or Vimeo account and email us the link at - for sound, you can upload it to SoundCloud, make it public and send us that link. For text or photos, just include them in the email, or send us a link to the photos on Flickr.

Something else? Send us an email and we’ll figure out how to make it work.

How do I get one of those awesome tote bags?

If you do three different addresses, we'll send you a tote bag. It's that simple. Alternately, if you do an address in Staten Island, we've got a tote bag for you. These are wonderful white bags that fit a standard vinyl sleeve, printed with the full-color Five Boroughs image. You can also get one by becoming a member of Avant Media.

What's new?

We tweet out the most recent submissions on our twitter feed @49Waltzes. You can also ask us questions there, and the feed itself is embedded at the bottom of this page.

Can anyone submit?

Absolutely! You don’t need to be a musician, or even an artist. If you’re excited to listen, we’re excited to hear what you hear, or see what you see.

Do I have to do all the addresses on a waltz?

Not at all, a part of the concept behind this website is to make it as easy as possible to experience the city. You can just go to a single address, or multiples, or as many or as few as you want.

What if I hear something interesting, close to an address?

There are only two aspects of this work, the addresses and the "instrumentation." The purpose, we feel, is to find the beauty in these specific addresses, and to experiment with what it means to be a Performer, a Listener, or a Record Maker. Unfortunately, we can only post submissions from the specific addresses we are given.

What about rights?

We expect you to follow the terms of whatever service you are using to upload your media (e.g. the YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud, Vine &c. terms of use). Likewise, by sending us links to your media, you are giving us the right to embed that media on this site, on other sites affiliated with this one, and to use that media for non-commercial purposes.

If, at any time, you'd like us to take something off the site, please just send us an email at

How long should it be?

Any duration is fine, as long as you can upload it somewhere and make it streamable. If you want to send us a 1 second video, that’s fine, if you want to send a 2 hour sound file, great, as long as we can stream it from somewhere, we’re on board.

Who is John Cage?

John Cage was born September 5, 1912 and changed the way we think about music. He liberated sound. In what would have been his 100th year, musicians, dancers, and artists the world over are celebrating his legacy.

Learn more about Cage and his legacy:
John Cage Trust
John Cage: An Autobiographical Statement
John Cage on Wikipedia

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