Steve Reich, a Minimalist composer and artist, has been composing music since he was about 14 years old (Morrison). Upon entering Cornell at 16 years of age, Reich studied philosophy- focusing specific attention to the compositions of Paul Wittgenstein (Morrison). Wittgenstein was involved in a serious accident, leaving him with just his left arm, and so created piano arrangements designed to be played with one hand (Oram). Returning to Reich, he developed the use of repeating patterns in his music after he collaborated with Terry Riley on “In C” (Morrison). It is with this theory of repeating patterns that Reich’s unique musical philosophy developed. Firstly, some argue that Reich’s compositions are sounds rather than music. The
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Reich had used repeating patterns with violins and pianos before for his works, but the African influence created a modern sound that no one had heard before. Furthermore, it was in Ghana where Reich discovered an African musical tradition of not using a conductor. It is from this tradition that Steve Reich created his modern take of the conductor with the use of a designated “Master Drummer” (Steve Reich in Six Parts 2015). Similar in many ways to improvisation, drummers adjust their speed accordingly and go off of each other, creating a reliance which mixes all sounds with each other. As stated by Reich, “playing musicians take on some of conductorial duties that are normally given to a non-playing musician” (Steve Reich in Six Parts 2015).
In addition to learning in Ghana, Reich followed that up by studying gamelan music in 1973-1974 (Morrison). Soon after, “Music for 18 Musicians” was composed based off the drumming techniques and Bali influences that Reich had just experienced (Morrison). It was this composition with which Reich earned international respect, as all his other pieces had never been released further than that of his own group (Steve Reich in Six Parts
Reich had used repeating patterns with violins and pianos before for his works, but the African influence created a modern sound that no one had heard before. Furthermore, it was in Ghana where Reich discovered an African musical tradition of not using a conductor. It is from this tradition that Steve Reich created his modern take of the conductor with the use of a designated “Master Drummer” (Steve Reich in Six Parts 2015). Similar in many ways to improvisation, drummers adjust their speed accordingly and go off of each other, creating a reliance which mixes all sounds with each other. As stated by Reich, “playing musicians take on some of conductorial duties that are normally given to a non-playing musician” (Steve Reich in Six Parts 2015).
In addition to learning in Ghana, Reich followed that up by studying gamelan music in 1973-1974 (Morrison). Soon after, “Music for 18 Musicians” was composed based off the drumming techniques and Bali influences that Reich had just experienced (Morrison). It was this composition with which Reich earned international respect, as all his other pieces had never been released further than that of his own group (Steve Reich in Six Parts