Music stripped to its fundamental features Often uses consonant harmony, a steady pulse, ostinato, and slowly evolving textures A reaction to the complexities of serial musicCharacteristics of Minimalism Minimal music is characterized by the repetition of very short phrases that change gradually producing a hypnotic effect. nSimple and direct music nStatic tonal structures nAdditive rhythms nTextural consistency nConstant repetition nDrastic reduction of musical materials |
LaMonte Young – American (born 1935) nAdhered to serialism and was attracted to the music of Webern nCarried the reduction of elements to an unprecedented extreme nHis music is long and repetitive, and though these qualities, he sought to make audible subtle differences in the musical narrative. nExamples nThe entire piece consist only of an interval of a perfect fifth (B-F#) that is held for a very long time
Here it is realized using
2 candles. nConsists simple of the striking of an object (unspecified) every second or so over a very long period of time (duration also unspecified) |
Philip Glass – American (born 1937) nHis music is very similar to Reich with the additional use of additive melodic formulas nMusic for opera, dance, theater, orchestra, film qThe Hours qFog of War qKundum nListening: qMusic in Fifth nAn initial figure of 8 notes is gradually expanded to 200 notes. qLes Enfants Terribles (1996) Koyaanisqatsi - a Hopi word loosely translated to "life out of balance" Einstein on the Beach (1937) -
Opera has no real plot or character development -
Lyrics are mostly numbers & solfege syllables -
Title derived from Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach about nuclear destruction
The Hours | 
Steve Reich – American (born 1935) nWhile working with tape loops he became fascinated with the possibilities of ‘phase shifting’ qE.g., playing two or more identical loops at slightly different speeds so that the repetitions move gradually ‘out of phase’ nListening qPiano Phase (1967) for two pianos nLimited range of pitch material nSteady rhythmic pulsation nConstant repetition Steve Reich: Music for Pieces of Wood Come Out |
 Terry Riley - American (born 1935) qAleatory piece for any number of performers and undetermined duration qConsists of 53 musical phrases that may be repeated an arbitrary number of times in disynchronization qConstant repeated C in the piano functions as a metronome qInfluential to many pop and rock artists including “The Who” (Baba O’Riley) | 
John Adams – American (born 1947) Phrygian Gates also shows score Short Ride in a Fast Machine |
•The influence of different styles of
world music cannot be underestimated in the development of minimalist music. •All the composers above were fascinated by the hypnotic rhythmic and melodic patterns of world music, especially the
Indonesian Gamelan and
African Drumming. •Many minimalist composers visited these areas of the world and immersed themselves in the sound and style of the local music. |
