Minimalism

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Minimalist music is music that is very minimal in its sound. dynamic, harmonics, melodies and rhythms, and which relies on process to form its structure.

When I first discovered Minimalism (particularly the music of Philip Glass), I found what can only be described as "heaven in my ears". It was exactly what I had been looking for. My search for the perfect music was over. I had almost found perfect music in Tool (who use mathematical formulae and process in their music), Opeth (who use many classical techniques in their unique brand of heavy metal), and all kinds of classical composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. It was after discovering Philip Glass that I ended my search. This was THE music. Process music. Aspie music. My music.

I loved it so much that I actually compose music myself now. All of my music is reliant on process or mathematical formulae. It just seems the natural way to do it, as nature itself has been discovered to possess mathematical patterns and occurrences. The music is relentless and repetitive, and so it induces a physical reaction rather than an emotional reaction. It's very honest music.

Here's a clip of a notable Philip Glass piece, "Two Pages", with its score, and you'll see what I mean by "process music".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5antXqfUQrQ[/youtube]

Any other Minimalism fans here?

We listened to some minimalist music in my music appreciation class. It is some pretty good stuff.

Whoa

It seemed a little weird at first, but after about 10 seconds I started to space out to this and before I knew it, the 10 minutes were up

I think I'll download this to my iPod and set it to loop so I can listen to it in bed

That sounds a little too much like hanging upside down running out of oxygen.

I like music that has or builds a structure. Examples might be "Dueling Banjos", "F Groove" by Dick Dale, a good Bach fugue, (Now fugues are kind of fractal and mathematical, I think good music for Aspies), Pachelbel's Canon in D, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams.

interesting-it's sort of like the aural equivalent of watching flowing water-I'm not knowledgeable about music but every time I see a bunch of birds sitting on telephone wires I wonder what that would sound like translated to a musical score.

excellent

Appealing, yet driving me insane. Can't listen to it whilst doing something els.

Looks interesting.....I'm just downloading it now so I can play it later when I'm away from prying ears.

The only context in which I've heard the word "minimalism" about music was to do with rock music some years ago, when there was a band called The Ramones. They used to play very un-embellished songs......the drummer never did anything except keep up a solid 4/4 beat, the guitarist just played straight chords, the bass was a simple, repetitive string of notes, the vocals were deliberately ordinary. I quite liked them......it was refreshing the way they'd cut through the crap and just play. I like the directness of the approach.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NEHyE6Vou8[/youtube]

And since the clip you posted is a rework of a theme by Steve Reich, you probably should look up his albums as well. Look for his album "Music For 18 Musicians".

Also check out the album "In C" by Terry Riley.

I've been listening to Philip Glass for years. A little trivia - Philip Glass penned part of the "Sanka Cantata" with Peter Schickele which appeared on the first P.D.Q. Bach album. (Schickele, Glass and Steve Reich all went to school together.) And while on the topic of PDQ Bach - check out the track "Einstein on the Fritz" (which obviously gets its title from Philip Glass' opera "Einstein on the Beach") from the "1712 Overture" album, which is a reworking of the music from the title track of Glass' "Koyaanisqatsi" (the lyrics become "Coy Hotsy Totsy").

I've gone to see Philip Glass in concert a couple of times. It really amazes me how they can keep up a frenetic pace of very complex patterns and all stay perfectly in sync and all stop at exactly the same time. Minimalist music was one of my big "special interests" when I was back in college and in the years following, so I collected most the Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass albums that existed at that time. But I haven't kept up in the past 10 years or so.

Somehow his music seems to mimic my thought patterns when I'm tired.
Even my Avatar has a certain "vortex" pattern to it that evokes that sense of complex pattern and yet minimalistic simplicity. My mind feels as though it is swirling in a vortex like this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eYIWPPGtkE[/youtube]

Certain minimalists I like a lot; others not so much. Glass and Reich are wonderful. Terry Riley makes me want to stab my eyes out.

I'm a fan of Javanese Gamelan. That's sort of folk minimalism. Or Indian Classical.

That piece is boring and vapid. It has no substance.

ruveyn

Let's not attack other people's special interests in this way. Be nice.

Personally, I find minimalism boring with a cold, baroque effect. If want to listen to highly patterned music, I'll listen to Bach, for example.

For my ears Mozart has more of the heavily mathematical patterned feel.

The "boring" attribute of minimalism is often what I am seeking. Not something which I really have to concentrate heavily on - just a shifting pattern of notes. Something for the background to occupy the music center of my brain to a degree while I'm concentrating on thinking about something else.

Brian Eno's "Music For Airports" would be another album that would be worth listening to as this sort of background music.

I have enjoyed Phillip Glass for a long time. I don't think you chose one of his better pieces as an example, however.

Brian is a genius.

A similar kind of style is embraced by someone who I think is quite unknown to many - James Devane. You would have to hear his self titled album, as there are no words for it. He also did a heart-wrenching cover of Aphex Twin's "Rhubarb". You can find it on YouTube.

And then of course, some of my own music is quite along the lines of Ambient/repetitive/background subtlety.