Minimalism

Question 1

ostinati

Answer 1

small musical patterns which repeats over and over - this can also be called looping

Question 2

repetition

Answer 2

much use of ostinato and repeated patterns that change gradually

Question 3

note addition

Answer 3

adding one note at a time to these cells so that they expand gradually. note subtraction if often heard and the end of the piece

Question 4

phasing

Answer 4

when ostinati are layered on top of each other, one cell is slightly larger than the other and eventually they become out of sync with each other

Question 5

displacement

Answer 5

of the ostinato so that it starts at a different part of the bar

Question 6

modulation

Answer 6

in order to maintain interest amidst so much repetition, the music will often change key a lot

Question 7

layering

Answer 7

of ostinati so that the music becomes thicker and more complicated sounding. texture is usually polyphonic

Question 8

metamophosis

Answer 8

music slowly and gradually morphs into sounding quite different to how it begun

Question 9

time signature

Answer 9

frequent changes in time signature to maintain interest - results in ostinato feeling even more displaces

Question 10

static harmony

Answer 10

there are no traditional chord progressions - ostinati are often accompanied by drone/pedal notes or chords so that don’t change very often