Minimalism

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Minimalism is a term to describe music that has very little material and very little change from beginning to end. Minimalism can be thought of as a minute hand or hour hand on a clock. Most music is like a second hand, you can easily detect when it changes, moves from one idea to the next. But unless you really concentrate you cannot easily detect the movement of the minute or hour hands, you just realize that after some time it's in a completely different place. This is (in a way) is what minimalism is.

Elements

Minimalism is the school of music that involves making the absolute most out of the absolute least. In art music, the term Minimalism might describe a piece of music that incorporates one or some of the following elements:

Repetition

Usually a short musical phrase, but repeats constantly, like an ostinato. Also along these lines are elements of Stasis, where instead of being repetitive in short musical phrases, the "repetition" comes from a drone, or long tones.

Emphasis of constant harmony

This simply meaning that there are very few non-harmonic lines. Harmony is an important factor in minimalism, whether it be consonant or dissonant. Works without a sense of harmonic unity are rare, however, the harmony may take multiple forms. This is exemplified clearly in the work of Steve Reich, where in his tape pieces such as "It's Gonna Rain" and "Come Out", the constant harmony involves the looping and multi-layering of spoken word. A similar technique is seen in his percussion works, eg. "Drumming" or "Clapping Music", where the use of rhythmic cells becomes paramount, with harmony playing a more minor role.

A steady pulse

Fluctuations in tempo are rare in minimalism. Consequently, much of the music adopts a highly regular pulse that may last an hour or more in extended compositions. In this sense, the genre has been compared to trance or techno music in its relentless, unchanging beat. For an example of this, see "Music for 18 Musicians", by Steve Reich.

Multiple layers and complex rhythms

To keep from the monotony, minimalists like to use complex rhythms. They aren't always "complex" to the sense that it is hard to count, but to the sense that it is hard to perform. For example, in Philip Glass' "Opening", he uses a 6 against 4 hemiola rhythm, which may render it challenging or impossible for some performers.

Another example would be in Steve Reich's Tehillim. In this work for ensemble and chorus, the metres are constantly changing, switching between 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, 9/8, 10/8, 12/8, 13/8, 14/8, 17/8 and 20/8, with often only one bar per time signature.

A trance hypnotic effect

Because of the repetition, minimalism often creates a trance like effect, especially in certain genres of techno such as dub-step, which is closely related to (if not considered to be) minimalism.