Berrak Nil Boya - Repetition in Minimalist Style-libre

MUSICAL REPETITION in STEVE REICHS PIANO PHASE 1

Musical Repetition in Steve Reichs Piano Phase

By BERRAK NIL BOYA

ISTANBUL

2012


Introduction

Repetition is a natural part of our lives. Whether it is physical (e.g. exercise) or

psychological (e.g. repetition compulsion1), we have a tendency to repeat ourselves to a

certain degree. Through countless conscious and unconscious repetitions, we create patterns

and form habits that can define and change who we are, therefore repetition in any form

carries a significant importance.

So it is perfectly understandable that music -which in the light of new research can be said

to have existed almost as long as modern humans-is mostly based on repetition. Repetition of

musical themes, motives, rhythmic patterns etc. is essential to creation and enjoyment of

almost all kinds of music, because repetition enables us to easily memorize and then recall the

musical material.

As Levitin points out (2006): Music works because we remember the tones we have just

heard and are relating them to the ones that are just now being played. Those groups of

tonesphrasesmight come up later in the piece in a variation or transposition that tickles our memory system at the same time as it activates our emotional centers. (p.163)

It is safe to say this is not just an accurate description of Western classical music but also

other musical traditions of the world (e.g. Indian, Turkish, African) as well. But since this

study focuses on a Western musical style first emerged in the second half of twentieth

century, it would be appropriate to limit included musical examples and related explanations

to Western classical music tradition.

1 Generally, a common form of compulsion in which there is an irrational and rather irresistible desire

to repeat some behavior. Reber, Allen and Reber, (2009), p.678


1. What is musical repetition?

In its simplest form a musical repetition is the repetition of any kind of musical material,

(thematic, motivic, rhythmic etc.) included in a piece of music. Musical repetition can occur

in many different layers of a musical work separately and at the same time. Some examples

of the compositional techniques and forms of musical repetition commonly used in Western

music are Canon, Isoryhthm, Passacaglia and Fugue.

Repetition was prominent in the development and perfection of many different musical

styles. From isorhythmic motets of Machaut to fugues of Bach to Beethovens Fifth Symphony with motivic repetition at its core to Ravels Bolero which is structurally based on a single thematic repetition, it is clear that musical repetition was always an important part of

the western music tradition.

But in the twentieth century, musical repetition gained much more importance as it was

designated as the sole deciding mechanism on how to construct a musical work. In the first

half of the twentieth century, twelve-tone technique created by Arnold Schoenberg limited the

repetition of available musical pitches in a musical piece to one in every twelve notes.

Later on with serialism and total serialism this limited repetition was not only applied to

the pitches but also on the other aspects of musical structure such as rhythm, duration,

dynamics etc. in the compositions of Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and many others.

These compositional techniques gave birth to a less repetitive and therefore more abstract

musical style in return. A style that quickly became very popular with avant-garde composers

of the day.

On the other hand in the early 1950s composers like John Cage and Morton Feldman were

using new, completely unique and experimental techniques when composing and

consequently creating works stylistically very different from the serial compositions of their


times. While composers employing serialism choose to control almost every aspect of a

composition, Cage and Feldman decided to use techniques depending on chance or left some

part of the compositional structure undetermined. But despite the differences between their

compositional techniques, resulting work of these avant-garde composers had one very

important thing in common, besides the disuse of tonal harmony; they also did not use

conventional forms of musical repetition.

However within the next ten years, a new musical style called Minimalism would emerge

in the works of Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Steve Reich and Philip Glass and change the

course of music history once more. Although they were the first composers associated with

minimalism in the beginning, today it is very clear that their intentions and musical worlds are

different from one another. Therefore after a general overview of the minimalist style, rest of

this study focuses specifically on musical repetition in Steve Reichs Piano Phase.

2. Musical Repetition in Minimalist Style

In the beginning minimalism depended on the use of very limited (minimal) musical

material for its construction and more importantly it presented a kind of musical stasis. The

movement and the change from one measure to another happened so gradually that in the

perception of many first time listeners it was nearly non-existent until the transition was

complete. At first this gradual change and stasis was generated by the use of long drone-like

tones, a perfect example in this case would be La Monte Youngs Trio for Strings (1958).

While Young created this static, meditative musical world by using long tones, Terry Riley

and later Steve Reich and Philip Glass chose to use exact repetition to obtain a sense of

gradual movement. Rileys In C (1964) which is often hailed as the first minimalistic piece, consisted fifty three different musical figures. During performance these musical figures

would be repeated exactly, without any variation or change in pitch, duration, rhythm etc. and


the decision on how many times a figure was repeated before moving to the next one

belonged to the performers entirely. This application created an artistic freedom and gave

every performance a chance to become unique while maintaining a limitation on musical

materials at the same time.

Another important aspect of this piece was, beside the meditative and the static it also

reflected a pulse. This pulse was created by employing one musician to play a C in repeated

eighths for the whole duration of the piece. For anyone familiar with Steve Reichs music it wouldnt be a surprise that the person behind this idea of a pulse was Reich himself who also performed as one of the musicians in the first performance of In C.

While it would be accurate to point out both Reich and later Glass depended on

predetermined musical structures in their works more than Young and Riley, among the two

Reichs musical output was more influenced by his interest in rhythmic structures and strict musical processes that occurred in a unique temporal space. Creation of this unique temporal

space in the perception of listeners and musicians alike was made possible by the use of

identical musical repetition in many different ways. But to understand how musical repetition

can create a new temporal space first it is necessary to understand how and why musical

repetition works. As listeners and musicians what is it about musical repetition that attracts

and affects us so much? And how Steve Reich used musical repetition in his Piano Phase to

create and later expand a new musical style that influenced countless musicians from many

different musical genres.

3. How and why musical repetition works?

Music needs time. It needs time to unfold, to progress and to fully realize itself. More

importantly as listeners we need time, so we can efficiently process the flow of information

available in a piece of music. To comprehend this information fully we need to take into


account what has happened, what is happening and the relationship between both while still

listening to a piece of music. According to Meyer (1961), Understanding music is not merely a matter of perceiving separate sounds. It involves relating sounds to one another in such a

way that they form patterns (musical events). (p.260)

And musical repetition plays a crucial part in this pattern forming process. Because when a

piece of information is repeated, it asserts itself against the ephemerality of our short-term

memory. Therefore repetition elevates the chance of permanence for all kinds of information

and vice versa, lack of repetition makes any information volatile and vulnerable.

In a piece of music, constant repetition of musical materials -whether it is the rhythmic or

melodic fragments of a whole theme (e.g. Beethovens fifth) or notes belonging to a single chord (e.g. Tristan chord) - makes this material available to us somewhat permanently. So

even after a few repetitions we start to form patterns and have expectations about the possible

developmental choices of the current musical process. This expectation and the positive or

negative consequences of it, is what makes music enjoyable and emotionally rewarding.2

On the other hand without any musical repetition-not even a single note- it would be

impossible for us to create a musical pattern in the first listen, because all musical material

available would have equal importance so we could either expect all of the information to be

repeated or none. But in both cases it wouldnt make a meaningful impact on us because the lack of any repetition also means a lack of memorization and association of available

materials to one another. In an example like this memorization and pattern forming can only

be possible by listening to the whole piece repeatedly, from start to finish. But if the duration

of the piece is longer than a few minutes this memorization and pattern forming process

would amount to a great deal of work on the listeners part. So it can be argued that for a 2 David Hurons ITRPA Theory first presented in his stellar book Sweet Anticipation greatly

elaborates on this subject.


pleasant and fulfilling musical experience repetition is a must. But what kind of repetition and

for how long it should go on?

Some examples of musical repetition techniques and forms based on these techniques are

mentioned in the first section of this essay. As can be seen from these examples, constant

identical repetition of a given theme or figure is not a common and tolerated practice in the

history of Western Music. If we go back to the example of Beethovens Fifth Symphony it is clear that even in the first repetition of the opening figure, it is altered from G-G-G-Eb to F-F-

F-D. From an aesthetic and harmonic point of view this change is necessary and appropriate

in the nineteenth century symphonic tradition.

Surely, there must be some examples of identical repetition of certain themes and

harmonic changes, but how identical are they considering the musical context they are

repeated in? And more importantly how many times this identical repetition occurs

throughout the work?

In search of these answers one will come to the conclusion that continuous use of identical

musical repetition is a relatively new phenomenon in the history of Western music. As Meyer

(1961) explains while repetition is a natural part of primitive music, In the West, for instance, exact repetition is felt to be wasteful and pointless (p.266)

Likewise Stambaugh (1964) suggests while explaining the renewing effect of repetition

Pure repetition is a mechanical category. The motion of a machine is repetitious. In music there can be no repetition in this sense. (p.270)

Nevertheless only a few years later American minimalist music surfaced and with it

brought the practice of identical musical repetition to Western musical world. More

importantly this identical repetition was not used just as a musical device but it became the

main objective and the point of origin in a new musical style.


4. Musical repetition in Steve Reichs Piano Phase

Steve Reichs accidental invention of musical phasing while using tape loops is now a very well-known story, intriguing point is the application of this phasing process to live

instrumental performance. It is not surprising that one of the main concerns of Reich while

transforming this process was that musicians (humans) were incapable of using it

successfully. He explains (2002); Unfortunately, it seemed to me at the time impossible for two human beings to perform that gradual phase shifting process, since the process was

discovered with, and was indigenous to, machines.(p.22)

What made this process challenging was not only the identical repetition but the

differences in playing speed between the musicians that resulted in phasing. Creating a

comprehensible and effective phasing process relied on the musicians ability to speed up gradually. If the change from one note to another would happen too fast then the phasing

would not be perceptible and the whole composition would lose its meaning. Therefore

musicians needed to have utter control and concentration during performance. On the other

hand this was made possible because piece only contains four different melodic patterns-also

second pattern is a derivative of the first and the fourth one a derivative of the third- and

therefore these patterns were easy to memorize.

First Pattern


Second Pattern

Third Pattern

Fourth Pattern

Thus, after absorbing the musical material, musicians have a chance to fully focus on the

performance without looking at the score.

In the beginning a musician starts to play the first pattern, than a second musician joins the

first while exactly matching the playing speed. However after a few repetitions, to capture the

essence of phasing, second musician begins to speed up gradually-just enough to get ahead of

the first musician for an eighth note- than he/she stays on this beat as long as necessary before

speeding up again to get ahead of the first player for two eighth notes. The process is

complete when the second musician finishes the cycle by getting ahead of the first musician

for twelve eighth notes and therefore continues to play with the first while matching playing

speed once more.

As stated above, Piano Phase contains four different melodic patterns and phasing process

is repeated from start to finish three times by using these patterns. However there are some


differences between the performances of these cycles. In the first cycle first musician

introduces the melodic pattern and both musicians play the first pattern,

In the second cycle while first musician introduces a second pattern consisting eight

eighth notes, second musician introduces a third melodic pattern and applies the phasing

process using this pattern,

Later the third cycle begins with second musicians introduction of the fourth melodic pattern consisting four eighth notes. First musician joins by playing the same pattern while the

second musician starts the last phasing process and the piece concludes with two musicians

playing the fourth pattern at the same time.

It is evident from the phasing cycles that this piece is structured around three sections.

First section is comprised of bars 1 to 16, second section occurs between bars 17 to 26, and


third and final section is established between bars 27 to 32. In the beginning of each section a

new musical pattern is heard solo and then joined by a second musician to start the phasing

process. This transition sections help clear the auditory space and make it easier for the

listener to perceive a new texture. It is used as a way to break the possible monotony that can

emerge from continuous repetition.

Use of identical repetition in Piano Phase is ground breaking in many ways. First, it not

only uses, but takes identical repetition to the extremes. There are only two main musical

patterns (if we accept the second and fourth patterns as derivatives) and these patterns are

repeated countless times during the whole performance. But despite this fact the piece never

becomes dull or monotonous and creates a unique experience each time it is heard and the

main reason for this is the use of phasing. Even though the used patterns are identical, the

resulting soundscape is not, because phasing creates variation. This variation maybe non-

existent on the score but after the completion of each phase, the vertical alignment of notes

and consequently the intervals heard change. In return this creates a contrast with the

preceding and the following alignment of intervals and establishes a kind of temporal melodic

progression without a harmonic one.3

Secondly, identical repetition is precise. What do we mean by that? It is precisely identical

because the instruments used are the same (two pianos or two marimbas) and therefore have

the same timbre. Not only that but the repetition is precise in pitch too, one of the instruments

is not an octave or two octaves below/above the other, they operate between the same

intervals. This arrangement is needed to create a phasing effect.

3 This practice somewhat resembles the compositional aspects of modal jazz, Reich himself states that

he was heavily influenced by jazz and especially John Coltrane.


Reich (2002) said on the subject; this was necessary because the phasing process is only clearly audible when the two or more voices moving against each other are identical in

timbre, and therefore combine to form one complete resulting pattern in the ear. (p.66)

These patterns composer speak of is the third important outcome of identical repetition.

Resulting patterns are created in listeners perception by cognitive processes and directly relate to the level of attention. Composer explains (2002) this process in his writings about

Violin Phase (1967); Since it is the attention of the listener that will largely determine which particular resulting pattern he or she will hear at any one moment, these patterns can be

understood as psychoacoustic by-products of the repetition and phase-shifting. (p.26)

So when a listener focuses her/his attention to the different parts of the musical texture,

he/she can gather different information than before. This information can also vary based on

previous listening experience of the same piece or acquired music taste. Therefore each

listening experience can result in the perception of different resulting patterns.

Also since there is no apparent harmonic progression, rhythmic downbeats or melodic

development, every pattern and every repetition is autonomous and has equal importance.

Listeners do not have enough evidence to pinpoint a gravity point to form a tendency for

completion and resolution, thus lack of tension and resolution loss of musical dialectic - is a natural side effect of identical repetition.

Another important aspect of Piano Phase is related to performance. Since the whole

process is inspired by machines as Reich himself said, the level of focus on a repetitive task

and lack of personal interpretation required from the musicians are unconventional to say the

least. Thus, this performance practice brings certain difficulties to musicians trained in the

classical and romantic western music tradition. According to Reich (2002); Everything is worked out, there is no improvisation whatever, but the psychology of performance, what


really happens when you play, is total involvement with the sound: total sensuous-intellectual

involvement. (p.24)

The lack of improvisation generally indicates a total creative control on composers part. However Piano Phase differs from the usual practice in this case too. While it may be argued

that since Steve Reich created the piece and made all the decisions beforehand, its

performance is an indication if his will and personality. Well he definitely wanted his music

to be personal by carefully constructing the piece, but using a process like phasing he also

caused the performance to be as impersonal as possible. As Reich indicated (2002); I compose the material, decide the process it's going to be run through-but once these initial

choices have been made, it runs by itself. (p.36)

The concept of absolute music -music without any reference to cultural, social or political

subjects- was in the center of a big controversy and resulted in endless debates among the

composers of nineteenth century and onwards. But the concept of music that runs by itself and

uses the performers as a tool during its process to realize itself is a particular twentieth

century phenomenon. In this kind of performance neither the composer nor the performers are

the driving force behind the composition, they are devices used by the composition which

runs itself when it is put in motion.

The reasoning behind this is although the composer creates and the musicians perform,

listeners experience the composition in a different way, not in the way it was composed or it

was performed but how it sounds throughout the process of the piece. And the natural

progression of this process is what Reich means when he says it runs by itself. Because even

if you decide on every aspect of a composition, still it is a possibility that it will sound and

perceived differently than it is written on the score. And in an example like Piano Phase the


only mechanism that has any say on how it sounds is the music itself and how it is perceived

is left on the cognitive auditory processes initiated in listeners minds.

In his famous article called Music as a Gradual Process Reich specifically indicates his

motives as a composer (2002); I am interested in perceptible processes. I want to be able to hear the process happening throughout the sounding music. (p.34)

And by creating as unique a compositional process as phasing and using identical

repetition as the main element of this process, he not only accomplished his goal but also

created a style that influenced countless composers and musicians to this day. More

importantly, impact of his musical output was not just restricted to the serious music world as can be seen in the works of John Adams or Louis Andriessen among many others, but it

has also played a key role in the creation and development of more mainstream music genres such as electronica, ambient and dance music.

While works like Its Gonna Rain and Come Out inspired musicians to use techniques for sampling and re-sampling voice as an integral part of a composition, beat oriented,

harmonically static nature of Reichs instrumental minimalistic output enabled the artists to use direct samples from his pieces easily in their productions as well. For example; The Proxy

by the English producer/dj RJD2 and Little Fluffy Clouds by the ambient house duo The Orb

both use samples from Reichs Electric Counterpoint (1987).

Artists discovered they could change the speed or pitch of these samples or use different

parts of it in succession without losing the coherency of the whole, since most of the time

there wasnt a long melodic line to be interrupted. Instead separate small modules gave them room to switch between samples easily and with the help of a steady beat, they could re-

arrange their works in any way they wanted. This gave them an opportunity to remix their


own works while protecting their originality and opened new doors for variation during a live

performance.

This kind of work flow played a key role in the establishment and progress of sample

based and beat oriented electronic music styles. Soon artists started to use or create their own

samples in the vein of Reichs style by using or imitating his sampling processes and in time different sampling techniques started to emerge with the advancement and affordability of

computer technology.

Not only did these artists use short samples from composers work on their own pieces, but they also started to take part in production of whole albums like Reich Remixed (1999) in

which they remixed Reichs pieces like Music for 18 Musicians and Proverb from beginning to end. Nonesuch Records, the record company that the composer works with even announced

a remix competition back in 2010, calling for producers to remix the third movement of

Reichs 2x5 and later released an EP that consisted of the top three remixes that were chosen.

Aside from artists who operate on musical genres that are based on sampling, Reichs compositions were also influential for bands like King Crimson and Tangerine Dream that

were more inclined to compose their own original pieces from scratch. Therefore his

influence is more evident on the minimalistic repetition patterns they use on their instrumental

lines that form the basis of their musical texture. King Crimsons Discipline (1981) and Waiting Man (1982) or Tangerine Dreams Love on a Real Train from their soundtrack for Risky Business (1983) are just a few examples of how these bands use repetitive modules on

harmonically static backgrounds to support their melodic lines.


Conclusion

It is possible that for some of us, minimalism will always just amount to excessive and

identical repetition. But like any other musical style, minimalism is actually shaped by the

musical processes and the context this identical repetition is used in. In Steve Reichs case what turned this identical repetition to an enjoyable experience for listeners and performers at

first was actually imitating a process created by machines. In his first interview with Nyman

when asked about the mechanical aspects of his writing he clearly states (2002); People imitating machines was always considered a sickly trip; I don't feel that way at all,

emotionally. (p.54)

Thus its not surprising that in a way Piano Phase was the beginning of a musical integration which would expand and develop throughout Reichs career, the integration of humans and machines. In Piano Phase it was the humanistic imitation of a mechanical

process, in Different Trains (1987) repetition imitated both speech sounds of humans and the

mechanical movement of a train and in one of his most recent works 2x5 (2010) Reich

actually allowed a computer program to have a final say on a very important compositional

decision4.

Cell phones, computers, music players, cars and not to mention the conventional home

appliances, we have already integrated with the machines during the last century. We are

depending on them to make our lives easier; we live with them every second of every day

whether we want to or not, we need them. It is the reality of each and every one of us who live

in a somewhat modern world.

4 Reich explains (2010) ; this is one of those accidents that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Through the interaction of my music notation program and my software sampler the guitars mistakenly came out an octave higher (p.3) And he thought it sounded great and left it that way.


While we integrate and go through life in a mechanical world in every sense of the word,

mechanical repetition slowly becomes a natural part of our lives. Considering this fact it is not

surprising that nowadays many popular and underground musical styles are greatly influenced

by Reich and Glass and the minimalist use of musical repetition. As Fink explains (2005)

when he is depicting a composition student experimenting with loops; And, to tell the truth, if he asked her why anybody should care about two idiotic minimal loops repeating over and

over and slowly going out of phase, shed have no answer. Except that it sounds like, feels like . . . Her life (p.20)

Thus, it is safe to say that Piano Phase with its identical repetitive imitation of a

mechanical process; is not only a groundbreaking piece of music but also a cultural and

sociological foreshadowing on twenty first century.


REFERENCES

Reich, S., (2002). Writings on Music 1965-2002, New York, NY, Oxford University Press

Levitin, D.J., (2006). This is Your Brain on Music, The Science of a Human Obsession, New

York,NY, Penguin Group (USA)

Huron, D., (2006). Sweet Anticipation, Music and the Psychology of Expectation, Cambridge,

MA, The MIT Press

Meyer, L.B., (1961). On Rehearing Music, Journal of the American Musical Society,Vol.14,

No.2,pp.257-267, University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological

Society

Fink, R., (2005). Repeating Ourselves, American Minimal Music as Cultural Practice,

Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, University of California Press

Stambaugh, J., (1964). Music as a Temporal Form, The Journal of Philosophy, Vol.61, No.9,

pp. 265-280, Journal of Philosophy, Inc.

Reich, S., Givony, R. (2010). Double Sextet 2x5 Album Booklet, New York, NY, Nonesuch

Records.

Documents

Berrak Nil Boya - Repetition in Minimalist Style-libre