Minimalist music and features

Throughout history, art has gone through various eras and trends, each time with qualities and interesting characteristics that seek to adapt the needs of expression depending on the context by which it is is happening. On the way of development, sometimes there is the need to return to simplicity to recover forgotten factors. In this lesson from a TEACHER you will know what is minimalist music and its characteristics, so that you can expand your knowledge regarding one of the most interesting currents during the twentieth century.

If you want to know what minimalist music is, you should bear in mind that it is a genre and a trend that was born in the United States in the 60s as an experimental style. The English word "underground" is often used (without popularity or fame motivations, sometimes anti-system) to define this movement, as it developed within a alternative scope in the city of San Francisco. Be part of one of the music stages more current and surprising.

Over time it spread to New York City until it eventually became one of the most popular musical styles in the world.

experimental music in the 20th century, eventually reaching Europe.

Many attribute the origin of minimalist music to the currents of the conceptualism, in twelve-tone music (musical genre that focuses on the 12 musical tones). The first minimalist work is believed to have been composer La Monte Young's string trio composition in 1958.

So that you know better what minimalist music is, below we want to discover the most outstanding characteristics. More than just a style of music, minimalism is an ideology and a way of seeing the sound as a method of expression. Many lines and formal structures are ignored in minimalism, as well as in other experimental genres, to show that creativity does not have precise limits, but perceptual ones.

The main idea of ​​this musical genre, which actually gives it the name, is the use of the least amount of musical resources possible. This can be reflected in the number of notes, the complexity of the musical phrases, the number of instruments used (for example the work Steve Reich's "Six Pianos", which, as its name indicates, requires 6 pianos to be interpreted) or the little complexity of these.

For example, there are minimalist works that seek to create music with household or unusual objects, resulting in experimental works using bicycle wheels or whiskey glasses. The inclusion of electronic instruments is also a curious addition, as in the case of the works Mescalin Mix and The Gift by Terry Riley, using electronic recorders.

Being minimalism a experimental style It is necessary to remember that the works cannot and should not be pigeonholed into very specific characteristics and it does not mean that because they do not fulfill a quality they cease to be part of the category. Minimalism seeks open-mindedness. Taking that into account, within the features of minimalist music are the following:

• Static harmony, sometimes remaining in a single chord.
• Constant pulse.
• Use of pure tones or just tuning.
• Repetitive rhythmic patterns.
• Use of mathematical or algorithmic processes.
• Use of systematic patterns or permutations.
• Slow transformations or transitions.
• Reiteration of phrases or musical figures in small units.
• Retention of basic rhythms or harmony for a long period of time.
• Endless cyclical phrases.
• Unusual sounds
• Limited instrumentation.
• Unusual instrumentation.
• Experimentation of the properties of perception, such as metamusic (amplification of perception as a collateral effect).
• Minimal graduations between closely spaced notes.
• Musical influence of non-Western cultures (for example Indian music or African music).
• Random and repetitive use of the voice, without structure or content, as a rhythmic factor.

Although minimalism began as a musical movement with dozens of composers, only some of them remained relevant:

• Terry Riley: Mescalin Mix, The Gift, In C.
• Steve Reich: Six Pianos, It's Gonna Rain, Come Out, Piano Phase
• Philip Glass: 1 + 1, Two Pages, Music in Fifths, Music in Contrary Motion
• La Monte Young: Trio for strings.
• John Adams: Phrygian Gates, Shaker Loops
• When the style arrived in Europe, its greatest exponents were the following:
• Gabin bryars
• John tavener
• Karel goeyvaerts
• Louis Andriessen
• Ludovico einaudi
• Michael nyman
• Stefano Ianne
• Steve Martiand
• Wim Mertens
• Yann tiersen

Funny how humans can come and go in trends. Even after returning to the basics, they maintain the ingenuity to innovate from simplicity, recovering musical principles to find a new form of expression.