Minimalistic music originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s. It began with composers such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass. During this time, classical music was backing itself into a corner. Avant-garde composers wrote parody pieces designed to poke fun at the elitist musical establishment, by stripping away the idea of harmony and wrote music according to mathematical principles. Minimalism music was a way to throw out the rule book and wipe the musical slate clean. The composers were able to rebuild classical music from its foundations, and that was when Minimalistic music was born. It was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School.
Minimalism music is defined as stripping down music and using minimal embellishment or orchestrational complexity. Initially, minimal music was characterised as droney and hypnotic or cold and repetitive. The beauty of Minimalism is that it started out as something so simple. The smallest changes in the minmalism music are easy to hear and not drowned out by other instrusments or melodies. Also, minimalistic music can contain words. In It's Gonna Rain, by Steve Reich, uses speech from a sermon set on a loop. While it might be slightly odd hearing the same words over and over again eventually your brain ignores the meaning and starts to become hypnotised by the pitch and rhythm of the text.
Some features of minimalistic music are:
Minimalism music is defined as stripping down music and using minimal embellishment or orchestrational complexity. Initially, minimal music was characterised as droney and hypnotic or cold and repetitive. The beauty of Minimalism is that it started out as something so simple. The smallest changes in the minmalism music are easy to hear and not drowned out by other instrusments or melodies. Also, minimalistic music can contain words. In It's Gonna Rain, by Steve Reich, uses speech from a sermon set on a loop. While it might be slightly odd hearing the same words over and over again eventually your brain ignores the meaning and starts to become hypnotised by the pitch and rhythm of the text.
Some features of minimalistic music are:
- a complex contrapuntal texture
- broken chords (where the notes of a chord are played singly rather than together)
- slow harmonic changes
- melodic cells (the use of fragmentary ideas)
- note addition (where notes are added to a repeated phrase)
- melodic transformation (where a melody gradually changes shape)
- rhythmic transformation (where a rhythm gradually changes shape)
- gradual changes in texture and dynamics
- resultant melody, where a melody emerges as the same notes occur at the same time in the phase, giving them emphasis
- tonal ambiguity where the key is not clear or different harmonisations are possible
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Steve Reich is an American composer who was one of the leading exponents of Minimalism, a style based on repetitions and combinations of simple motifs and harmonies.
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Philip Glass is an American composer who is famous for his innovative instrumental, vocal, and operatic music. He is a major composer of minimalism music.
“What you hear depends on how you focus your ear. We’re not talking about inventing a new language, but rather inventing new perceptions of existing languages.” – Philip Glass |
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