Composition Study 9 - Steve Reich

Introduction 

For this piece we were tasked with creating a minimalist piece in the style of Steve Reich, the rule for this composition were as follows:

1.Create a modal pattern using quavers in 12/8. 

      2.Build up texture and harmony using canonic "phase shifting".

      3.Use substitution: rests for beats and vice versa
      4.Try and experiment with dynamics to accentuate rhythmic interplay.   
      5.Homophonic instrumental texture. 
      6.Produce a 'B' section using another mode. No bass line or downbeat.  

      7.Try and keep it under 5 minutes long.

Research

Minimalism is a style of music pioneered by artists including Steve Reich and Philip Glass. The musical characteristics of this type of genre usually include the use of a single repeating pattern of notes with a very slow harmonic change. Pieces in this style of music can also vary from anywhere to three minutes to three hours.

Steve Reich preferred method was to use phase shifting between two musical phrases to create constantly changing polyphonic parts. Steve Reich was born in October 3 1936. His most notable technique is phase shifting two repetitive sections of music, this creates changes in beats and rhythms within the composition. Reich is an American composer who pioneered minimal music in the late 1960s. 

Reich's Pieces

 
Piano phase was a piece written in 1967 for two pianos. This was his first attempt at using one of the phasing techniques.  The transitions between each section are not smooth however, leaving to uncomfortable changes before it phasing back into another rhythmic section (subjective as to whether this is unpleasing for the listener of course)

Clapping Music 

Reich's clapping piece used the phasing technique but rather than having an organic transition between each part, the clapping would move a beat forward, this was done to keep the pieces audible, otherwise the sound would just sound disorganized.

Method

The first thing that needed to be composed was a single non repeating section, quite some thought went into this part of the composition, as being the most heard part, it would have to be an interesting phrase for the listener to hear. Care also had to be taken in that the repeating section could be phase shifted without it becoming too distorted.

After this was composed, I then copy and pasted the phrase for a total of just over two minutes, this would be the underpinning of the composition in which I would layer in the other sections which would go out of time with the original.

The piece would also need to contain a b section, while it is different from the main part, I did start with the original phrase and edited it in order to get the b section, because this had to be in a different key, I modulated some of the notes in order to bring it from a Dorian mode into the Lydian mode.

Final Mix

Conclusion

In conclusion, I feel that this investigation into minimalism has been one of the most interesting pieces to research. Some of the pieces listened to induce almost a trance or meditative like state. If repeated again I would have tried to have made the piece longer and delved into what it takes to make the piece longer while still being interesting.