Minimalism
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minimalism in music means a way of composing using an idea which is repeated many times. A minimalist piece of music usually takes a short idea which may be a melodic or a rhythmic pattern. This idea is then repeated over and over again but, very gradually, it changes. Sometimes this may be done by two or more instruments which start off by playing their notes or chords together but, as one is going slightly faster than the other, they gradually become “out of sync” (not synchronized, i.e. not together). Usually this music is tonal so that it is firmly in one key.
Composers who wrote minimalist music include Steve Reich (b.1936), Philip Glass (b.1937) and Terry Riley (b.1935). Other composers like John Adams (b.1947) have also used minimalist ways of composing, but combined these with other techniques so that their music is not just minimalist.
Minimalist music became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. These composers started writing like this because a lot of composers were writing music which was very complicated and hard to understand. It was often serial music which was atonal with no obvious melodies or ideas that you could remember.
Minimalist music is not necessarily simple. It can have a kind of hypnotic effect, but this is part of what the composer wants. Reich’s Clapping Music just consists of clapping: there is no melody. He was thinking of African drumming music when he wrote it. Two performers begin by clapping a rhythm together. After 13 seconds the second performer leaves out the first quaver (eighth note) and puts it at the end of the second bar (measure). After another 13 seconds this happens again so that in the end the two performers are together again. You have to listen to this music in a different way from other kinds of music.