5 Music Pieces that will Change Your View on Minimalism
Have you always loved the idea of minimalism but felt that selling almost all your possessions, and then folding the remaining ones very nicely, was a bit too extreme for you? Then read on.
I’m going to introduce you to 5 pieces that have repetitions as their major focus, and I’ll couple it with some of my own thoughts on minimalism.
Here’s what I will cover:
Philip Glass – ‘Opening’ from Glassworks:
Philip Glass is probably the most well-known minimalistic composer. He has written for a wide variety of instruments, including writing several famous operas. Glass is known for heavy use of repetitions, and is actually not fond of the term minimalist:
An interesting quote, since I think it shows that the term minimalism has been skewed such that, we no longer see repetition as an integral part of it; I wonder if this part of the reason why Glass is trying to separate himself from the term, minimalist. I will dwell further into discussing why repetition is an integral part of minimalism throughout this blog post, starting with one of Glass’ own compositions.
‘Opening’ from Glassworks
What’s being played
‘Opening’ is a solo piano-piece from the album ‘Glassworks’; an album Glass made to appeal to the wider public. Some minimalistic music can require a lot of attention from the listener, but with ‘Glassworks’ Glass wanted to release a cassette tape that appealed to a wider public.
The piece ‘opening’ is often regarded as a simpler version of ‘Mad Rush’, which was released three years earlier. Both pieces are centered around a simple juxtaposition of 3 against 2. This means that there is a rhythm which plays 3 notes evenly for each beat, and a rhythm that plays 2 notes evenly for each beat.
Below is the first bar from the score of ‘opening’, where the 3 against 2 juxtaposition is seen rather easily; the 3-note rhythm is in the right hand (the top) and the 2-note rhythm is in the left hand (the bottom). Note the little 3’s in the top. The little 3’s means that the 3 quarter notes should be spread out evenly across the duration of 2 quarter notes.
In ‘Opening’ we start out with a simple F-minor chord. Both the left hand and the right hand are alternating between two notes, in each of their respective rhythms; the rhythms stay unchanged throughout the whole piece. In addition to the two rhythms, there is a whole note at the bottom. I have decided to analyze the piece as consisting of four individual voices, two voices in the top, a middle voice that changes between two notes and a bottom voice that plays whole notes.
The piece consists of three sections, which are each repeated four times. At the end of the fourth variation, there’s a small variation that leads the music naturally towards the next section. In the first first two sections the variation is one bar long, and in the third section the variations is 5 bars long. The piece is repeated twice, and in the third and final playthrough, the final bar ends with the player being asked to hold down the final chord for an extra bar.
In the above picture I have attempted to give an analysis of the form of ‘Opening’. If you have not seen an analysis like this before, it works like this. For each level, a new section is given a letter in alphabetical order. If a section is not really new, but just a slight variation, instead a ‘ is added.
The piece is played three times, with a slight variation at the end the third time, therefore we can write it as A A A’. The piece consists of three sections, A, B and C. These sections are each repeated four times. The first two sections have a slight variation the fourth time, hence the a a a a’ and b b b b’ format, and the third section has a slight variation the third time and then a new section the fourth time, so c c c’ d (and d’ in the final repetition).
Each section consists of four bars, which at first look seem to change each time. To see better how they are also centered around repetitions, I have further analyzed each section from two different perspectives: the notes being played and the chords being played. First of let’s look at the chords being played.
The chords and notes being played
In this analysis we can see that each section can be broken down into two halves. This might not seem obvious at first if you’re unfamiliar with the relationship between major and minor scales.
Just as there are 12 major scales, there are also 12 minor scales. For each major scale, there is a minor scale which consists of the same notes, but starts and ends on another note. This relationship means that they, to a certain extent, are interchangeable. In section B and C we see this relationship being utilized. Cm and Eb share the same notes, and Bb and Gm share the same notes. Because of this relationship, we can see that overall the sections can be divided into two equal halves.
With few exceptions, each half consists of two chords that are either the same, or share a major-minor scale relationship. The two chords are not identical however, only the root of the chord is the same, that is to say, they are different versions of the same root chord.
We will now take deeper dive into what is being played, and look at the notes being played in each section.
In this analysis, the numbers (1st-4th) represent the 4 voices. The sections are indicated with capital letters and section C is divided into two parts. This is because section C changes after the first 3 repetitions, and in the last repetition four new bars are played which are different. After this, the first two times the whole piece is repeated, as indicated by the arrow and text, the third time the piece ends.
The dotted lines show that a bar varies. In A, the first 3 times the section is played, the notes c, a, g, bb and db are played. The dash between g and bb indicate that they are played alternately. Note that the dash in the final bar C1, in the 4th voice, between bb and ab, here indicate that the note is changed halfway through the bar.
I have provided this very detailed analysis of this piece, to help you recognize the patterns and the subtle changes, that Glass is centering the piece on. What is evident is that Glass uses repetitions as his basis for composing this piece. The rhythms for each voice are repeated with very few changes, and in each bar, the four voices repeat the same notes, also with only few variations to this pattern. From bar to bar within a section, only a few notes are generally changed, meaning most voices repeat the same note as in the previous bar. The result is that each voice with their repetitions, together create a unified whole that moves from chord to chord with few changes. The repetitions make this slow change possible.
We will see a similar compositional style in the final piece ‘Music for 18 Musicians’, where many voices together create a unified sound that slowy changes.
Steve Reich – Piano Phase:
He is a highly experimental and systematic composer, whose approach to music has results in a lot of fascinating compositions. He is particularly known for a technique known as phasing music. Phasing music originated from recordings on tape, and Reich would play several tape recordings on tape machines. The individual tape machines would slowly start to become out of sync with each other, and create reverb or delayed effects.
Reich’s music focuses heavily on repetitions and organic changes, in some cases changes caused by external factors. This approach is used in phasing music, where the instability of the tape machine creates the variations in the repetitions.
I will be featuring two pieces by Steve Reich. The first one ‘Piano Phase’ is one a prime example of this phasing music technique. This is a really interesting piece that can challenge the listener a bit, since there’s a lot of repetitions.
Piano Phase
What’s being played
In the first section, a 12-note melody is played. In the second section an 8-note melody is played. And in the third section, a 4-note melody is played. The first and second section are repeated until the cycle has gone full circle. The third section is repeated from 8-60 times (according to the score).
One of the really interesting things about this piece, is how it explores the grey area between when we interpret something as belonging together, or being a repetition. As the second piano gradually increases its tempo, we first hear it as one melody with some reverb and then eventually some delay. But at some point we start hearing them as two separate melodies. Exploring the grey area between each of these hearings, is one of the things I really enjoy about this piece.
John Adams – China Gates:
John Adams is a Pulitzer winning composer, mostly known for his operas and the piece ‘On the Transmigration of Souls’ – a piece commemorating the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Adams was initially a stern advocate for modernism in classical music, known for its fervent journey to carve an entirely new path for what music should sounds like. However, the book ‘Silence’ by John Cage spurred him on the path of minimalism instead.
Following this new perspective on music, Adams started the journey to write his first minimalistic composition, which resultes in two piano pieces.
First, ‘China Gates’, and later ‘Phrygian Gates’. Both very systematic pieces that follow a certain pattern that become the driving idea of the composition. This is a technique called process music. Where the pieces themselves represent processes that start and stop, often following a logical path from one phase to the other before they reach the conclusion.
To hear a very clear example of Process music, simply give ‘Piano Phase’ another listen, and consider how the piece follows a logical process that determine when a phase ends, what the next phase will be and when the piece is over.
China Gates
What’s being played
In this piece the repetitions are bound to certain rhythmical figures, which are then translated into different scales (technically a certain type of scales called modes). This is a piece that I recommend appreciating with two different ways of listening.
First a listening where the focus is on the transcending atmosphere that is created by the constant presence of something similar, but also slowly progressing between variations. When listening like this, don’t focus too much on the individual figures or variations, but instead their collective effect on you. In this second listening try to make out and recognize the rhythmical figures as the modes change. This time actively trying to separate the left hand from the right hand.
I have linked two different videos, one for each listening experience. The first one is a unique recording by Sarah Cahill whom the piece was written for originally. This recording is well suited for the first listening.
The second video has the sheet music, which can make it easier to actively listen for figures and variations.
I included this piece on the list for two reasons.
First of all because it’s an interesting listening experience and can sound a bit otherworldly if you’re not used to music in different modes. Because so many different notes are being played, it is maybe not a piece of music you would classify as minimalistic on first listen, but upon further inspection the consistent use of repetitions shows that it is.
Secondly, I think this piece illustrates well that repetitions are not just the result of using scarce material, which could just as easily lead to non-repetitive outputs, but that when repetition is the idea behind the usage of scarce material, then you have the basis for minimalism.
Arvo Pärt – Spiegel im Spiegel:
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer whose music is very well known. He is known for his religious music, and in particular the pieces ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ and ‘Fratres’.
Like John Adams, he focused on modernism, in particular serialism, during his composition studies. However, in 1968 he reached a point where he no longer wanted to use the techniques from serialism and released his first religious piece ‘Credo’, which initiated his venture into minimalism.
For the next eight years, Pärt released very little music, instead focusing on finding a new path for his music. During these eight years, he converted to Orthodox Christianity, and laid the foundations of a new kind of music that is called ‘Holy Minimalism’. A style where the aesthetic is more simplistic, and unsurprisingly, there is an identifiable religious focus.
Spiegel im Spiegel
Spiegel im Spiegel is one of those pieces you have probably heard before, but you don’t know what is it called. It is written in Pärt’s iconic style Tintinnabuli, which means ‘the ringing of bells’.
In Intinnabuli there are two voices (instruments) which both play material belonging to the scale. The first voice plays the tonic triad arpeggiated, and the second voice plays the tonic scale in step-wise motion. Since the piece is in F-major, the tonic triad is also the F-major.
In Spiegel im Spiegel the piano plays the tonic triad in the right hand, and the left hand plays the diatonic scale step-wise. The second voice, which is usually performed on violin or cello, also plays the diatonic scale step-wise. The second voice plays melodies that go upwards and downwards, and which expand with one note at each repetition. In between each melodic line, the piano plays the main pattern in F-major.
I was fortunate enough to perform this with the very talented cellist Ida Nørby Sørensen during my own composition studies.
When you listen to the piece, notice how the upwards and downwards melody are expanded with only one note at each repetition. A striking thing about this piece of music, is that on paper the idea sounds very uninteresting since it is so predictable. But, what is so wonderful, is that it reminds us that there’s nothing uninteresting about predictability and repetitions. In fact, it is the combination of these two, that evokes a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
Consider the impact it would have ,if you viewed repetitions and predictability, as beautiful and meaningful. Consider how often you hear the same melody, and how your mind and body respond to it. I think many, including myself, would feel better about our lives, if we had a more positive view on repetitions.
Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians
For the last piece on the list, we’re returning to the sonic universe of Steve Reich. This piece is considerably longer than the ones I have listed so far, in fact it’s almost an hour long. It is Reichs first piece for a larger ensemble, and it was released in 1978.
The other pieces have been short enough that you could listen to them a few times and try to pick out new things each time. With this piece however, it seems more likely that it’s a piece you will listen to and come back to later. I wanted to include it because there is something special about listening to longer pieces of music.
I also feel that the characteristic sound of this composition is something I hear has influenced many later compositions.
Music for 18 Musicians
In Music for 18 musicians, there are 11 chords, referred to as Pulses, which are the foundation of the piece. The ensembles moves from pulse to pulse, until the piece comes to an end. When you listen to the piece, appreciate how Reich creates a whole new sound with well-known instruments, by having them play small repetitive figures that slowly change as the unified sound moves from one chord to another.
Some thoughts on the importance of repetitions
I hope you have enjoyed the five pieces of minimalistic music that I have chosen.
I have wanted to show that minimalism in music is rooted in an exploration of repetitions. Often this results in using only little material, however, the meaningful pursuit is in creating on the basis of repetitions. Having little for the sake of having little, is not bad in itself, but it’s potential is so limited compared to repetitions as a fundamental part of our life.
In interpretations of minimalism into other areas, in particular philosophies about life, the idea of little material has been promoted to being the main idea in minimalism, which is a shame.
I propose to declutter minimalism. What difference does it really make if you own 10 boxes of miscellaneous memorabilia and knickknack, if they don’t take away from your engagement with the important things in your life? I think that the decluttering project is meaningless, because it is quantifiable. What seems to happen once the decluttering process can no longer continue, is that other elimination processes are set in motion: zero-waste living, no-buy periods and no-tech periods. Granted, these are all admirable and probably rewarding processes, but I believe that meaningful activites have an inherent, non-quantifiable meaning.
We constitute our identity on repetitions. What we do repeatedly will be tied to certain things we perceive ourselves as. Behavior that departs from our recurring pattern is regarded as acting out of character. In our consumption of things, we dislike repetition, thus, a dissonance arises. We dislike our lives because we dislike repetition. The value of a repetition decreases because it’s recognizable, and therefore, it has a declining ability to satisfy our craving for newness.
We expect our desire for newness will catapult us into a life full of many, diverse experiences. We are betrayed, however, and lose the enjoyment of our lives on the way. Therefore, reclaiming joy means deliberately dissatisfying the sickness in our brains; the ever increasing demand for increasingly more unexpected things.
Repetitions hold the potential to supersaturate our craving for newness. The very thing we regard as opposed to newness, opens the door to constant experiences of never-before-seen. If we consciously focus on the similarity and dissimilarity of a seemingly identical action, we train our ability to perceive things as slightly different, not very similar.
Embracing repetition is embracing a vital aspect of life –
embracing our identity,
embracing that we are human.
Thanks for reading, if you have any thoughts or comments, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
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