Key characteristics and the pioneers in avant

Key characteristics and the pioneers in avant-garde music Essay Minimalism originated in the sass, as a movement that sought to stray from the previous decade of self-expressionism as well as the contemporary trends of intellectual complexities found in serial music. Marked by repetitive mitotic and rhythmic patterns, it sought to emphasize simplicity in both melodic lines and harmonic progressions. In contrast to serial musics favored chromatic compositional techniques, minimalist music was wholly diatonic and consonant in nature. Textural consistency and layered melodies/rhythms gave way to gradual changes, highlighting the process of music, tater than a particular musical goal or specialized form. Seemingly lacking a climax, each composition unfolded by a series of repeating motives and additive rhythms extended over long periods of time. Influenced by Asian and African music, minimalism understated dramatic structures and sounds, instead emphasizing the reduction of musical structures. During the sass, a group of young American composers vouched for the return of basic elements of music, without dramatic structures and abstract expressionism. Many were influenced by the compositions of John Cage, including several leading gurus of the minimalist movement: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. A graduate of Berkeley, Riley opposed the chromatic and twelve-tone writings of serial music. Like many of his contemporaries, Riley experimented with tape loops in his compositions and bridged the gap between the new avian-garden and the piqued interest of rock music. Riley was specifically interested in composing works for live audiences, as these proved more effective in conveying the so-called avian-garden sounds. Successful in its reception, this kind of experimental music appealed to the public as t grew in popularity and acceptance; his music was inclusive and non-elite. Varying degrees of musical experience and backgrounds were encouraged. An excellent example of this can be found in his composition, In C. Written in 1964, In C did not necessarily require the skills of highly trained musicians to be performed. The piece lasts 44 minutes, although one would not suspect it to be so lengthy as it only contains fifty-three modules in total. Any number of instruments could play at a given time either at the original pitch or at any octave transposition. Each of the fifty-three modules were to be looped; in other words, they should be repeated ad labium before moving on to the next module. Moreover, articulations and dynamics were to be performed ad labium. The work finally concluded when all of the performers had arrived at the last module. While it appears that Riley music contains a sort of anything goes mentality, it is quite the contrary in some respects. In choosing instruments for the actual performance, Riley suggested that all players maintain an eighth-note pulse, which was audibly heard by an instrumentalist who played the top octave of CSS, most likely plan n a piano or xylophone. Furthermore, Riley favored more homogeneous sound; thus, instruments that consisted of specific timbres and ranges were discouraged. In C was a prime example in proving that minimalist music was not music void of regulations and rules; rather, it stemmed from algorithms. Riley considered these algorithms fundamental to his music even if they appeared loose by nature. Interestingly enough, the C-pulse in Riley work was not his own idea, but instead that of another contemporary, Steve Reich. Reich was born in 1936 and his compositions were heavily influenced by non- Western traditions. He studied African drumming, which involved complex counterpoint, and Balinese gametal music, with its complex layering and fast interlocking patterns. Quite different in background from Riley, Reich was born into wealthy and high-class family in New York. Having had traditional piano lessons growing up, an impressive education at Cornell with a major in Philosophy, and graduate studies at the Jailbird School in traditional composition, Reich eventually found his path in composing twentieth-century music. Upon listening to recordings of Stravinsky Rite of Spring, Bachs Brandenburg Concertos, and bebop in succession, Riches developed a new musical obsession, what theorists would call, subtractive pulse. It is steady, audible pulse that is practically palpable (found in, In C). Death Metal Music EssayTypically, electronic instruments and pitches were utilized in minimalist music, as these particular sounds highlighted the monotony and reiteration of melodic and rhythmic cells. Prior to the twentieth-century, instruments were played and heard by way of inflection and nuance, whereas minimalist music omitted any sort of variance in expressive sound. Academic surrealist composers often dismissed the work of the non-academic avian-garden minimalists, but to the minimalist composer, music could be void of numbers and musical maps. Past Western traditions were based on rules and structures, cost of which minimalist composers rejected. The ideology that music should stem from reduced musical elements, and that their growth should be gradual and rather organic, pinned this musical genre as experimental and innovative. Transformation was marked by gradual processes and superfluous elements were disregarded and deemed unnecessary. The process of development was more important than the end result, much like the idea that Joy and self-evolution is found in the Journey and not Just in achieving it. Minimalism opposed the conservative or nostalgic and sought no return to older styles.