Electric Counterpoint3rd Movement - Fast

Before MinimalismDuring the 20thC, composers have tried to

push music in new and exciting directions.Schoenberg (Peripetie) abandoned tonality

altogether, developing expressionism.Expressionism led to serialism, with the use

of a prime order, retrograde, inversion and retrograde inversion

This led to various composers, such as Stockhausen, experimenting with timbre.

Some composers felt restricted by serialism, and came up with other approached to composition, such as.....

Scores with little or no detail

Scores with staff notation replaced by written directions

Scores with staff notation replaced by pictures and symbols (Graphic Scores)

Before Minimalism continuedThese composers liked the extremes of

pitch/dynamics etc that serialist composers used.

They took it to the next step and used instruments in unconventional ways

La Monte Young on Minimalism - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUoxy2FOdw

Performance note by Steve Reich

Performance note continued.

Parts and LayersLike most minimalist music, this piece is

built up of layers.In this movement there are 7 pre-

recorded guitar parts and 2 bass guitar parts.

The texture gradually builds up with the parts entering in the following order:

Structure = A B Coda.The main sections are then subdivided

into 4 smaller sections, each defined by changes in key and texture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJU9qEAoPp0&feature=related

Guitar 1

Live Guitar

Guitar 2

Guitar 3

Guitar 4

Bass Guitars 1 and 2

Guitar 5

Guitar 6

Guitar 7

Section A – Part 1 (Bars 1-23)Begins with Guitar 1 riffThe live guitar starts with

first 3 notes of ostinato 1, building up to the full use by bar 6, using note addition.

Bar 7 = Guitar 2 enters, but playing 1 crotchet later.

Bar 10 = Guitar 3 enters, building up to the full ostinato using note addition, but displaced by 5 ½ bars.

Bar 16 = Guitar 4 enters, playing ostinato 1 displaced by 2 ½ crotchets.

Section A – Part 1 (Bars 1-23)• Reich calls this a ‘Four-part guitar canon.• Guitar 4 doubles the live guitar• When all parts have entered, the live guitar

plays the resultant melody.• In 3/2 triple time.• Hinting at the key of E minor but not

confirmed.• This is called tonal ambiguity.

Section A – Part 2 (Bars 24-35)Bar 24 – Bass parts are introduced, reinforcing the triple

time feeling.A 2-bar bass ostinato is gradually introduced, only being

played in full in bar 33.At this point the key of E minor is definite (though actually

E-aeolian mode, as no D# is heard at any point).

Bar 33

The bass guitars are panned to the left and right hand speakers. This is usually bad practice but in this situation it balances the sound.

Live guitar continues the resultant melody.

Section A – Part 3 (Bars 36-66)Bar 26 – Live guitar plays new idea of strummed

chords. Provides new texture, percussive effect.Bar 40 – Guitar 5 = New sequence of C – Bm – E⁵.Bar 52 – Guitar 6 = New sequence of C – D – Em.Bar 64 – Guitar 7 = New sequence of C – D – Bm.Guitars 5-7 play at the same time, producing a new.

Interesting rhythmic counterpoint. Chords can be heard individually, even though the notes overlap to produce more complex chords.

Live guitar chords interweave with those of guitars 5-7.

Strummed Chords

Section A – Part 4 (Bars 67-73)Now all the counterpoint between the

strummed guitars has been completed, the live guitar returns to playing the resultant melody.

This is not obvious – listen to where the melody gets slightly louder.

Section B – Part 1 (Bars 74-81)Bar 74 - Key change

to C minor. Rather startling, signifies the change to section B.

Texture is the same as section 4.

BA

Section B – Part 2 (Bars 82-89)Modulate back to E minor with no preparation

(Sounds sudden).Metre changes to 12/8 in all but guitars 1-4.As it does not change in all instruments, it is not

obvious by listening.Bass plays a new ostinato.

Bar 86 – Metre shifts back to 3/2 and the bass ostinato changes back to ostinato 1 – This time Bass 1 is inverted and adds one additional note.

Section B – Part 3 (Bars 90-97)Modulates to C

minor (similar to section B -part 1)

Metre continues to change ever 4 bars (12/8 – 3/2)

Section B – Part 4 (Bars 98-113)Bar 98 - Modulate to E minor Changes in metre and key become more

frequent, building the tension.Bar 106 – Guitars 5-7 and the 2 bass parts

begin to fade out, gradually at first, then quickly at bar 113. Note the long diminuendo marking in the score.

Coda (Bars 114-140)By Bar 114 , the texture has returned to the

4-part canon of ostinato 1 in guitars 1-4, with the live guitar playing the resultant melody.

Changes in metre and key continue until bar 129. At this point it is made clear that the piece will end in E minor.

Ends with a crescendo to a final E⁵ chord played simultaneously in all remaining parts at the end of bar 139.

Section A Questions1. Describe the texture of the first section (up to 0’42’’)2. What is the term used to describe a repeated motif?3. What instrument enters at the start of the second section?4. What is the tonality of the piece at the start of the second

section?5. There are 3 strummed guitar parts. What studio

technique has been used to help separate out the parts?6. What other instruments have been separated out using

the same effect?7. The live guitar part plays a melody derived from the notes

played by the recorded part. What is the term used to describe this melody?

8. Why do you think this piece is called electric counterpoint?