Minimalism music

1. What does minimalism mean in music?
2. What are the characteristics of minimalist music?
3. What are examples of minimalist music?
4. Why was minimalism music created?

What does minimalism mean in music?

Minimal music (also called minimalism) is a form of art music or other compositional practice that employs limited or minimal musical materials. Prominent features of minimalist music include repetitive patterns or pulses, steady drones, consonant harmony, and reiteration of musical phrases or smaller units.

What are the characteristics of minimalist music?

Features of minimalist music

• a complex contrapuntal texture.
• broken chords (where the notes of a chord are played singly rather than together)
• slow harmonic changes.
• melodic cells (the use of fragmentary ideas)
• note addition (where notes are added to a repeated phrase)

What are examples of minimalist music?

10 best pieces of minimalist classical music for ultimate...

• Terry Riley: In C (1964) ...
• Julius Eastman: Femenine No. ...
• Arvo Pärt: Für Alina (1976) ...
• Meredith Monk: Ellis Island (1981) ...
• Philip Glass: Glassworks No. ...
• Steve Reich, Different Trains (1988) ...
• Michael Nyman: The Heart Asks Pleasure First (1993)

Why was minimalism music created?

Minimalism arose later in the 20th century as a reaction to the complexity, structure, and perception of twelve-tone serialism as it developed at the hands of Schoenberg's disciples. As you'll see when you start reading, the aesthetic of minimalism means different things to different composers.