We’ve looked at the musical development of minimalism in the mid-20th century (part 1). Then we discussed four minimalist-music pioneers and their contributions to the style (part 2). Today, let’s talk about the impact minimalism has had on 21st-century music and how minimalism continues to make a statement in modern ways. And let me tell you now: the impact is huge!
Minimalism’s Impact on Music
Since its development as a musical style in the mid-1900s, minimalism has undergone many changes, shifts, and expansions. As the 20th century came to a close, modern music saw an explosion of new sounds and ideas as technology evolved. Because of this, minimalism became a stepping-stone for the development of modern music.
The Rise of Minimalism
What is it about minimalism that became so popular?
I’m not sure. But I do know that specific harmonies (either unobtrusive or extremely emotional), simple melodies, and repeated sounds all represent beauty and comfort to the modern ear. As a result, composers latched onto the simple, repetitive phrases and ideas found in minimalism.
But what’s unique about modern music is that composers can use technology and history to put their own spin on minimalist ideas. This results in music that is similar-yet-completely-different to what has been created already.
Tape Music and Technology
The earliest minimalist composers began writing at a time when technology started to bloom. Composers began implementing pre-recorded sounds in their compositions (tape music), and they used technology with their music to create specific atmospheres and sounds.
Because of technological developments in the 20th century, composers could do all kinds of new things. They could record sounds to use in their performances. They could change the sounds of those recordings. They could layer and loop and distort to their hearts’ content. (For more information on the development of electronic music, click here.)
This new technology plus minimalist musical ideas created a whole new generation of composers who combined the two to make 21st-century music.
Minimalism in the 21st Century
People around the world have come to associate well-crafted minimalism with emotion. As a result, composers have fine-tuned the 21st-century musical language to include a simple melodic theme supported by a beautiful harmony that gets repeated with little change. This idea permeates instrumental, electronic, and film music.
Minimalism in Instrumental Music
Many of today’s classical composers incorporate minimalist ideas into their music.
Ludovico Einaudi (1955)
Ludovico Einaudi, for example, has capitalized on minimalism:
His piece Divenire uses a simple accompaniment (a progression of 8 chords that spins around a trill-like motif) underneath a melody that utilizes sustained notes. The middle section is a repeated pattern of arpeggios that changes octaves and dynamics, but it doesn’t actually change notes very much.
This piece exemplifies 21st-century minimalism. The harmonies are gorgeous, the melody is simple, and the piece changes just enough to be interesting but not enough to be discomforting.
Alfonso Peduto
And then you have composers like Alfonso Peduto, who puts his own voice in minimalism with the help of technology:
His work Sequences layers small cellular musical ideas on top of each other, all in beautiful harmony, to create waves of sound. Sequences is a set of six piano pieces written for several pianos (Sequences I is written for one piano, Sequences II for two pianos, and so on). In order to make the recordings and videos, Peduto used an electronic technique called “live looping” – where the sound of the piano is fed real-time to computer software that is set to trigger the looping at specific instances.
*Click here for a discussion on Steve Reich’s use of looping and how it helped shape minimalism.
John Luther Adams (1953)
Composer John Luther Adams uses minimalist techniques to write large-scale orchestral works:
If you’ve been with A Pianist’s Musings for a while, you’ll know that I love this piece. Adams uses groups of instruments, layers of sound, and a continuous percussion ostinato to perpetuate motion in this work. The minimalism here is his use of musical cells – both long and short – to create an underwater atmosphere. Click here for more.
A Pianist’s Musings Original
These composers influenced me to write my own piece based in minimalism:
Polaroids slowly builds layers of sound over a static, repeated note before abrupt mood changes shift the melodic structure. (And if you like the piece, check out the sheet music:)
*My work Three Images Book 1 also incorporates minimalism with a melody to create a modern sound.
Minimalism in Electronic Music
Thanks to developments in technology, electronic music has become popular in the 21st century. We can hear elements of minimalism in electronic music today, like short, repeated melodic ideas, subtle layering of sound, and intense harmonies.
Electronic Music
There are many different kinds of electronic music. Ambient utilizes extreme minimalism to create an atmosphere of complete relaxation. EDM (Electronic Dance Music) uses repeated musical themes, beats, and sounds to create a track meant to dance to in a club.
Not all electronic music is used for dancing, though. Check out this piece by Cesc Vilà:
Everdream exemplifies what electronic music combined with minimalism can do. There are a few short melodic ideas, simple rhythms, lush harmonies, and each aspect is repeated over and over to generate a relaxed and beautiful mood.
One reason music like this has seen popularity over the last few years is that listeners enjoy feeling relaxed and at peace when they listen. Minimalist characteristics portrayed in Everdream create a versatile atmosphere: listeners can study schoolwork to it without getting distracted, they can calm down if they are tense, they can change or enhance their mood, they can tune out the world, and all this because a few repeated themes are presented in a beautiful way. It’s really amazing how minimalism has permeated modern music.
Minimalism in Film Music
Because of its emotional quality, many film composers have also adapted minimalism into their film scores.
Hans Zimmer (1957)
Time by Hans Zimmer, for example, uses a small and impactful chord progression to set the scene:
In this particular piece of film music, Zimmer slowly layers new musical cells over the same 8-bar chord progression to create a dramatic climax. Every entrance brings a new rhythm or melodic motif that fits into the chords.
Similarly, in his theme for the movie Interstellar, Zimmer slowly builds a world out of a repeated piano note:
And the repeated piano isn’t the only minimalist idea here; each musical fragment is a cell that gets played again, expanded, and depressed throughout the course of the work.
Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018)
Jóhannsson uses minimalism in all of his music, but check out his score for The Imitation Game:
The minimalism here is subtle, but the motif in the accompaniment repeats throughout the score. The layering of instruments and fragmented melodies results in gorgeous-yet-minimal film music.
James Horner (1953-2015)
In A Beautiful Mind, Horner combines melody with minimalism:
Repeated ideas saturate this particular piece, but what I love is that he combines Romantic ideas (melody, lush harmony) with minimalism to create a few different atmospheres.
Music Today
Minimalism is the driving force for much of today’s music. Composers across genres have incorporated these ideas into their music to create a beautiful world full of sound and color. Without the endless possibilities of minimalism, 21st-century music would be completely different.
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