Download Steve Reich – Electric Counterpoint

GCSE Music Revision 2014
Area of Study 2:
Steve Reich: 3rd Movement (fast) from
Electric Counterpoint
Steve Reich: Context & Background
Through the 20th Century composers aimed to
push music in new & interesting directions
Minimalism emerged after art forms such as
expressionism (Schoenberg)
Composers explored new ways of writing
music down e.g. scores with little or not detail
Instruments were in unconventional ways
e.g. being hit, plucked, bowed or immersed in
water!
Steve Reich: Elements of Minnimalism
 Drones – a ling, continuous note or constantly repeated note often low pitch
 Ostinato or loops – repeated cycles of musical ideas. The shortest are known
as cells
 Phasing – two almost identical parts which go out of sync with each other
gradually
 Metamorphosis – gradually changing from one musical idea to another,
usually one note at a time
 Layering – adding new musical parts, usually one at a time
 Note addition - starting off with a very simple ostinato and gradually adding
notes as the pattern repeats
 Note Subtraction – starting off with a complex ostinato and gradually
removing notes
 Rhythmic Displacement – playing a musical phrase so that accents fall in
unexpected places
 Augmentation – extending the durations of a rhythmic pattern
 Static Harmony – One long chord which changes only very gradually, if at all
Steve Reich: As a composer
 Born in New York in 1936
 His music is rhythmically complex
with much repetition
 Famous for the ‘phasing
technique’
 Music is highly demanding to
perform
 Studied African drumming in 1970
which influenced compositions
such as Drumming & Clapping
Music
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
 Electric Counterpoint was written in 1987
 The piece is the last in a series of 3 pieces for soloists playing
to pre-recorded multi track tapes
 Commissioned for Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny
 The performance features 12 recorded guitar parts & two
bass guitars as well as the live part
 The performance requires precise timing and a high level of
accuracy
 The ‘backing track’ (recorded guitars) allows notes addition
and other development techniques to be used that would not
be possible with a standard tape loop
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint Section A
Section
Timing
Description
1
0 – 42s
•One bar ostinato played by guitar 1 (pre recorded) followed by the
live guitar part using 3 notes of ostinato one
•building gradually using addition technique
•Guitars 2, 3 and 4 enter played variations of the ostinato forming
a “Four part guitar canon”
•When all the parts have entered the live guitar starts the resultant
melody
•The piece is in 3/2 time with a cleat triple metre
•Hints of E Minor
A
2
43s – 1:05
•Bass guitar is introduced
•Two bar ostinato is introduced gradually
•Two bass guitars are panned to the left and right speakers
•Live guitar continues the resultant melody
A
3
1:05 – 2:05
•Live guitar introduces a new idea
•Guitars 5, 6 and 7 introduce new sequences
•The live guitar plays interweaving chords between the parts of
guitars 5 - 7
A
4
2:06 – 2:16
•The live guitar returns to the resultant melody
A
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint Section B & Coda
B
5
2:16 – 2:31
•A startling change of key to C minor signals the start of section B
texture remains the same
B
6
2:32 – 2:46
•The key shifts back to B minor
•In this section the metre changes to 12/8
•The bass plays a new ostinato
B
7
2:47 – 3:01
•The key returns to C minor
•The metre changes every 4 bars
B
8
3:02 – 3:32
•Return to E minor
•Shifts in key and metre become more frequent
•Bass guitars start to fade out with guitars 5 - 7
Coda
9
3:32 – 4:24
•The texture has now returned to the “four part guitar
canon”
•Shifts in key continue until the pieces settles in E minor
•The piece ends with a crescendo to a final E Minor chord
played by all remaining guitar parts