GCSE Minimalism

MINIMALISM Music in the 20th Century 

Learning Objectives •To become familiar and identify with the sound of minimalist music. •To know and understand the key features of minimalist music. •To be aware of prominent minimalist composers and to know the key terms of phase shifting, ostinato, layering, gradual change and repetition.

WHERE DID IT COME FROM? Minimalism is a style of music which originated on the West coast of America in the 1960s.

KEY COMPOSERS La Monte Young – Believed a single sound can be interesting in its own right. Works include Composition 1960#7 

Is it possible to get more minimal than this? Yes – 4’33 by John Cage 

Terry Riley 

Heavily influenced by La Monte Young 

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Composed using ‘cells’ –  short musical ideas. It was up to the performers to decide how often to repeat the ideas.

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Famous works: ‘In C’

In C by Terry Riley

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was born in 1936. His compositions are influenced by nonWestern traditions. He studied African drumming, with its complex counterpoint, and Balinese gamelan music, with its complex layering and fast interlocking patterns. Steve Reich

He composed using phasing Result was a complicated multi rhythmic texture based on repetition and slow change. His well-known pieces include Clapping Music, Different Trains and Music for Pieces of Wood.

KEY COMPOSERS  John Adams A very influential American  composer born in 1947. A California based composer. Famous works include: Nixon In China, Shaker Loops, Hallelujah Junction, Phrygian Gates, Chamber Symphony 

Philip Glass  The highly influential  American composer, Philip Glass was born in 1937 and is famous for his classical compositions and film scores. His well-known  works include: ‘Einstein on the Beach’, ‘Violin Concerto’, ‘Two Pages’. His film scores include: ‘The Hours’, ‘The Truman Show’, ‘The Illusionist’

KEY FEATURES Reduced style – e.g. lack of dynamics, constant tempo.  Repetition – ideas repeated several times.  Steady pulse.  Tonal Harmonies.  Layered Textures.  Gradually changes over a long period of time.  Phasing.  Altered time frame – pieces are quite long.  Can include sampling and looping. 

Learning Objectives •To become familiar and identify with the sound of minimalist music. •To know and understand the key features of minimalist music. •To be aware of prominent minimalist composers and to know the key terms of phase shifting, ostinato, layering, gradual change and repetition.