Minimalism

Hey guys,

I'm not really at a stage in my studies of composition where i can learn much about different techniques (I've never actually had a specific lesson on composition, just written what i can gather from the styles of other composers). I've recently been listening to some of Micheal Nylan's pieces and i was wondering if anyone would mind explaining to me some of the things i should consider when writing a minimalist piece such as rules i should follow, intervals to avoid ect.

I'd really appreciate some feedback - i'm getting quite into this style of music

thanks,

Unfortunately, I can't really offer you specific rules from a music theory standpoint, as the style itself is still somewhat incipient. However, as I'm sure you already know, it is based on the repetition and slight variation of a specific motif. The motif is generally stated simply early on in the piece and then repeats extensively throughout, undergoing slight modification during the development section. From my experience with the genre (mainly the works of Phillip Glass and John Adams) the piece can have a formal coda or simply come to a stop. I, too, have become a fan of this style and have written several pieces in it, though I remain a Romanticist at heart

I strongly encourage you to listen to the two above mentioned composers (Glass and Adams) to enhance your understanding of the genre in a very modern context, as both of them are still alive and working on new pieces. Though arguable, some would consider Shostakovich a minimalist composer, yet in a far less strict sense than most modern composers of the same ilk.

I believe it is certainly a worthy endeavor as a composer of classical music to become educated and familiar with this contemporary style, regardless of whether one chooses to embrace it, as it is presently en vogue and ostensibly the future direction of "formal music" in general.

The best way to learn, as with most things, is by doing. Write a few pieces in the style to the best of your ability and go from there. Regarding specific intervals, I would suggests you keep your harmony "open" if you're looking to achieve a modern sound, that is, use fourths and fifths of the tonic with no third---the use of a third is a very conventional practice and, consequently, makes for a traditional sound. Seventh and ninth chords sound more "jazzy" or Debussy than minimalist, but you should really just experiment and see what appeals to your ear.

Good luck and best regards for the future!

There are no "rules" of any particular style of music.

For the record, John Adams is a post-minimalist, or at least was. His music since the early 90s has sounded absolutely nothing like his early keyboard and other works from 70s and 80s. If anything, he and Glass are polar opposites.

I would recommend looking at Steve Reich's early pieces. That sort of sums up the early phase of minimalism pretty well. 20 minute long repetitions with only slight variations (Come out and It's gonna rain, piano phase, etc.)

Reich's work, if you listen from the oldest of his pieces to the newest, or until Caves, or until Different Trains you can clearly see the progression in techniques. The repetition element is used in many different ways later on, unlike Glass, Reich varies his style lots.

What is interesting about Reich and Glass is both have a very specific harmonic constellation they use all the time. It all returns to specific harmonic sequences, despite what the piece is. I think that's also something to consider, as an overall aesthetic thing.

There are other people, such as Yann Tiersen (Amelie, Good Bye Lenin OSTs) who use a little bit from the early phase and the later phase. Again, Tiersen's got a very defined harmonic constellation in all of his music that he always returns to, or allures.

In general, I'd say that one of the things you ought to do is grab all what is considered "minimalist" and shoot for what you actually like best, since the term is extremely broad. There are no.. uh... "interval" rules or such, and as far as I'm concerned you can make atonal minimalist music. One of the reasons for something like Reich's piano phase being tonal is probably because after so much repetitions tonality starts to sound abstract on its own. Like, it stops sounding like a chord progression and it begins sounding like background noise. Or at least that's one of the things the effect is known to cause.

So, yeah. It's a fun style, but it's really broad in definition.

for once i thought morton feldman to be 'atonal minimalist', oh, well - webern in minimalist disguise.

Originally Posted by jujimufu

i'll give you my reasoning behind that. feldman's music is quiet and slow, and often very long. he said that no pattern is better than the other one. he ascribed same musical value to any sound/pattern. plus he used a lot of aleatoric in his music, which to my mind is not so far from atonalism. so, essentially his slowness and aleatoric thinking/usage of patterns made me think of him as atonal minimalist. overall, i wanted to show how minimalism is very vast notion. and it has (the term) more of a philosophical value than purely musical. it's a style of thinking (in this case-musical) to me.

There are so many approaches to minimalism that you are basically given carte blanche... explore what you WANT to explore.

My understanding of the origins of minimalism were that it was a reaction to the extremes of complexity that contemporary music was taking, and as an exploration of primitivism in music as a "new" source of inspiration.

Some of the concepts that became material for minimalist expression were:

• actual repetition
• repetition with gradual modification
• minimal harmonic material (holding the same harmony for as long as possible before changing)
• harmonic pattern repetition
• rhythmic modification

There are so many approaches to take when starting to explore minimalism. I have always been fascinated by it as well. There is a tinge of it evident in most of my music.

I happen to believe that minimalism was as natural a reaction to the avant-garde of the 1950's as serialism was to the extreme chromaticism of the Wagnerians.

Excesses in any single direction often tend to give birth to reactionary movements.

Originally Posted by QcCowboy

There are so many approaches to minimalism that you are basically given carte blanche... explore what you WANT to explore.

My understanding of the origins of minimalism were that it was a reaction to the extremes of complexity that contemporary music was taking, and as an exploration of primitivism in music as a "new" source of inspiration.

Some of the concepts that became material for minimalist expression were:

• actual repetition
• repetition with gradual modification
• minimal harmonic material (holding the same harmony for as long as possible before changing)
• harmonic pattern repetition
• rhythmic modification

There are so many approaches to take when starting to explore minimalism. I have always been fascinated by it as well. There is a tinge of it evident in most of my music.

I happen to believe that minimalism was as natural a reaction to the avant-garde of the 1950's as serialism was to the extreme chromaticism of the Wagnerians.

Excesses in any single direction often tend to give birth to reactionary movements.

agreed, it's a reactionary movement but very intact and in its right place. also, minimalism, as a way of art thought, came not only in music, but in arts (painting) and literature. so it's kind of general, in a response to our uncertain, chaotic and very unstable political/technological age. while it will tend to be more complex (historical and social conditions) i think minimalist thought in arts will prevail in so many different ways.

It's easy to write a minimalist piece following the Philip Glass formula:

1. Take 3 or 4 chords, preferably minor triads.
2. Break these chords into arpeggio figures, like doodle-doodle-doodle-doodle (in 8th notes) or doodly-doodly-doodly-doodly (in triplets) or doodly-diddly-doodly-diddly or some other variation of it.
3. Then copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste,copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, copy-paste, etc.

If you wish you can add a hint of melody after n repetitions or so.