Richard E. Rodda's View On Minimalistic Music

The post 1945 period saw a considerable amount of changes in music. Different styles emerged, such as serial music, electroacoustic music, minimalistic music, and many others. Minimalism originated in ‘downtown’ New York City ring the early 1960s, and was initially considered to be a form of experimental music, as it was a totally different style of music as to what Stravinsky or Shostakovich wrote. Richard E. Rodda’s view on Minimalistic music was that it was based upon multiple repetitions of slowly changing chords. Minimalism evolved due to the ambitions of composers during that time. Many early minimalist composers, especially those from California and ‘downtown” Manhattan during the 1960s and 70s wanted to break down the barriers between different styles and compositional techniques of music. This was due to the fact that the society of these places put great emphasis in creativity and music that was an alternative to the common styles of music. In Minimalism, “stasis and repetition replaced the melodic line, tension and release, and climax of conventionally tonal music Loops, phasing, stasis, and tonality were all prominent features, used differently (though to similar effect) by each composer” (Lucy Davis “minimalism”).

Minimalism has been classified as part of the

This essay analyses Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, and how this minimalistic piece of Steve Reich’s later days proves to be a work of an alternative paradigm to many of his other earlier works. Music for 18 Musicians is an alternative paradigm to Steve Reich’s earlier works in various aspects. These aspects include harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation, which will the elements described and explained in this