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G C S E S E T E D E X C E L W O R K 6 - M U S I C S T U D Y ± A R E A S E S S I O N O F 2 7 S T U D Y ± 2 G E T T I N G W 2 I N S Y N C SET WORK SUMMARY rd 3 Movement (Fast) from Electric Counterpoint - Reich PART 1 - Placing the Set Work in its Musical, Social and Historical Context About the Composer ± Placing the Set Work in a Social and Historical Context x x x x x Steve Reich ± born in New York (1936 ± present) Started playing piano when he was young and drums when he was 14. His music is influenced by Jazz, Gamelan and African Music A key minimalist composer, he likes TONAL music (as opposed to Serialism which is Atonal) 2WKHUIDPRXVZRUNVLQFOXGH³'LIIHUHQW7UDLQV´³&ODSSLQJ0XVLF´DSKDVHshifting piece) and YDULRXV³WDSHG´PXVLFXVLQJUHFRUGHGVDPSOHVRIHYHU\GD\VRXQGVDQGORRSLQJWKHPWRFUHDWHD constant repeated pattern (New York Counterpoint) Related composers ± La Monte Young; Terry Riley; Philip Glass; Michael Nyman x About the Set Work ± Placing the Set Work in a Musical Context Electric Counterpoint was written for the jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Metheny would record all the parts himself (12 guitars and 2 bass guitars). He would then play the recording (called a µEDFNLQJWUDFN¶and would play the ³OLYH´SDUWRYer the top. The piece uses tape loops where each part is pre-recorded onto a tape loop to allow overdubbing (recording over the top). The movements within Electric Counterpoint GRQ¶W have titles, just tempo markings. The third movement (fast) is 140 bars long and lasts four and a half minutes. Music is an example of MINIMALISM GHYHORSHGLQ¶V¶V± features of minimalist music include: Builds music out of loops ± constantly repeated patterns ± short and simple; lack of a clear melody Harmonies made by layering patterns on top of each other ± gradually unfolding over a long period of time A reduced style e.g. little dynamic contrast, constant tempo Repetition ± ideas repeated several times gradually changing ± gives the music a hypnotic quality MINIMALIST TECHNIQUES ± Phasing, Additive Melody, Metamorphosis, Layering, Drones, Ostinati/Loops, Note addition, Note Subtraction, Rhythmic Displacement, Augmentation, Diminution, Static Harmony Use of Music Technology ± old tapes cut and pasted together, multi-track recording to layer sounds, live performances often use recorded backing tracks to build up the layers PART 2 ± Musical Elements, Instrumentation & Musical Features Time Signature to to Rhythm & Tempo Made up of rhythmic LAYERED OSTINATI which are PHASE SHIFTED and DISPLACED. Constant tempo throughout. Tonality & Harmony Reich uses TONAL AMBIGUITY ± keeps the listening guessing as to what key the piece is in. The bass guitars confirm E minor when they enter, but actually in the AEOLIAN MODE Changes to C minor in ³%´6HFWLRQ for contrast. Piece finishes on an E5 chord giving an ³RSHQ´DQG³VSDUVH´VRXQG Dynamics Not many changes in dynamics ± mainly in solo part fading in and out. Four ensemble parts playing the first riff remain mf all the time. Other parts have dim. finishing with a crescendo to ff for the solo part at the end. Pitch & Melody Guitar 3 uses ADDITIVE MELODY where 2 or 3 notes keep being added until the whole riff is heard. Texture A multi-OD\HUHGWH[WXUHLVDFKLHYHGE\HDFKWUDFNEHLQJ³PXOWL-WUDFNHG´WRDOORZOLYHSHUIRUPDQFHRYHU the top Made up of short patterns/riffs/motits/ostinati that are repeated. ,W¶VUHpetitive making it sound hypnotic Four of the ensemble parts play the same riff throughout the piece. Others join in one by one. Once all the parts have been introduced, the texture remains fairly constant but with use of PANNING (bass guitars are panned one to the left and one to the right) and INTERVIEWING RHYTHMS, the texture always seems to be shifting. Form & Structure The piece is divided into TWO main sections (A) and (B) with a CODA. The main sections are then subdivided into four smaller sections, each of which is defined by changes of key and texture. Instrumentation - 7 electric and 2 bass guitars The guitar parts enter in the following order: 1. Guitar 1; 2. Live Guitar; 3. Guitar 2; 4. Guitar 3; 5. Guitar 4 6. Bass Guitars 1 and 2; 7. Guitar 5; 8. Guitar 6; 9. Guitar 7 W W W . M U S I C A L C O N T E X T S . C O . U K