MUS- M 402 1st EditionLecture 36Outline of Last LectureI. Music of the 1960sOutline of Current LectureI. MinimalismII. Post-minimalismCurrent Lecture I. Minimalism a. Minimalism- “pattern and process” music.i. A style in which materials are reduced to a minimum and procedures aresimplified so that what is going on in the music is immediately apparent.ii. “Non-narrative”…that is, it avoids all dramatic devices, such as contrast,opposition, climax patterns of tension and release, large scale form, etc.iii. Repetition may be used to narrow the focus to a single musical cell, sothat the focus shifts away from countering and development to themusical object itself.iv. Often diatonic.b. Minimalism (according to La Monte Young, b. 1935)i. That which is created with a minimum of meansii. Concentrated and delimited so as to consist of a single event or objectiii. “Looping”- the technique of repeating the same sound over and overagain and just looping the sound.c. Steve Reich (b. 1936)i. “Phasing”- a compositional technique in which two parts identical incontent, but slightly different in tempo are played simultaneously, suchthat they gradually shift out of sync with one another.1. Discovered first by Terry Riley, though Reich claims to have comeupon it first.2. Can be used either by electronic tape or in an instrumentalcontext.II. Post-minimalism- a musical style that uses techniques of minimalism in combinationwith traditional methods, more varied material, and greater
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