Minimalist Compositions Good or Bad?

Since melody in musical composition began to loose it's importance and activity composers began to seek new opportunities and after romanticism. The first break point has started by Claude Debussy by using broken chords, Eastern sources and revolutionary chord progressions. Untill1940's, music was still "Music" After sometime later around same decade  by 12 tone mockery, music has died.

First of all the term 'music' comes from the 'Muse' from angels. Music is a kind of magic which affects human soul directly. This magic can be beneficial and non beneficial and even be harmfully matter. (Please read the Pythagoras' writings about music

Music can not be composed without inspiration and should be audible and melodic. Many researches indicate that the most listened music is the audible ones. The music which is loved by people, the music can be sang or  whistled by ordinary people.

People mostly listen the music which they can memorize by inner ear.

Unfortunately some composers denied or  this important matter to in order to create more complex compositions. May be they could create the good and technically satisfied compositions but they became the only listeners . This type of contemporary music became to music for colleagues.

Technically good  audible contemporary music can be composed if composers is talented. (Steve Reich, Philip Glass,John Adams,Terry Riley)

These very talented composers changed the music history since 1960's and covered the bad atonal music.

We should think and realize now another issue which the danger of minimalist technic in composition.

As we know while Reich uses the phase technic, Glass use more arpeggios technic. The first Glass compositions were more experimental and ugly later he decided to use melodic elements and became the most selling composers in contemporary music so did Reich. Reich's first compositions were also experimental and ugly.

In minimalist compositions the phase technic and arpeggios and multiplying arpeggios technic should be used in amalgamation. The proportions should be according to composer's taste.

The melodic factor:

The melody factor was not an issue in first minimalist compositions of Glass and Reich. Actually their technique is very different.

The most important factor in the minimalist music is the repetitive process and the sum of repetition. If composer too many repetitive themes the music could be hypnotic boring and non audible. Technic is as laying the repetitive themes and lay one these themes second. Third and fourth themes. When the first theme is bass line or root, the second theme should be the complementary. These complementary proportion must be used more if the phase sum more than 3.

3rd phase (x 2 complementary)

2nd phase (complementary)

1st phase (main idea)

The all phases must be unified and in same key. If complementary phase is more more attractive audible than main idea (first phase) this situation cover the main idea and music became mix of, in same key repetitive, dull, hypnotic unified voice crowd.

The bad example is my earlier compositions the good example is Steve Reich desert music (string part) and my "Noah's ark Part: Wavy Sea"

While some listeners hate minimal music even tonal ones, some like, and some of them choose composers rather than style.

Sometimes this kind of music may have been boring and torture like because listeners can not tolerate this repetitive musical process to listen. I made many experiments with casual ordinary listeners. However we composers think that how good structural music we created listeners refuse to listen unless;

İf we add some thematic  material on these repetitive process. Philip Glass began to use this technique after 1990. When we analyse Glass's  early music's we can confront more experimental and repetitive process. (Music of fifhs or early Glass ensemble music, or "The photographer" . As a result we composers never forget that the listeners like and listen always the easier audible music rather than structural experimental music even tonal.

Thank you for reading.

More to go soon......

2

When minimal elements did not be exagerrated minimalism style and philosophy is a good tool for composers. how_?

First of all the repetition issue is a good tool because composers do not feel in pressure to create new themes on and on.. But this issue  have also some disadvantages because of creating dull  dead and repetitive boring structures. As we consider the first compositions of Philip Glass especially for electronic organ and ensemble, was a experimental music and one could not bear to listen it. (Many of amateurs did not want to listen I have tested). Some years later Philip Glass became aware that such experimental  repetitive structures should have been boring and he later composed different.

After 80's Philip Glass composition contain more melodic phrases. The music was again minimalist but at this time the minimalistic structures had melodic phrases. Better to mention the melodic but not very attractive melodic phrases had become 1st structure and minimalistic structure become second structure. This new style did not damage the essence of minimalism. Example: ''Itapiu', 'Kundun', 'Akhnaten Opera' and 'Satyaghara Opera'.

Some of my compositions also are in this style you may listen from this site:

www.audiomack.com

please search tarkan songur in audiomack.com

There is a new invention that I found. if composer knows more theory and has more.experience I SAY, THE MORE EXPERIENCE CAUSES MORE MUSIC CREATION. Actually some conposers have systems to compose music with little inspiration because once they had set up the system the more we can have to go.....

March 2020

Because of this bad Virus we are all must stay at home. Staying at home after a while became to me an unbearable situation thus I began to think some theories about how to create music by using less inspiration.

I would like to give  this new topic-subject in this "Minimalist Music " main theme because it is related to minimalist music highly.

INSPIRATION FACTOR IN CREATING MUSIC.

More or less all of us observe  people, relatives, friends create their own melodies even if they are not professional musicians. People who are not musicians can create musical  melodies because of their natural talents. If person has natural  talent can create melody. If so, how people may feel to create melodies with half decisive melodic sentence, and decisive melodic sentences. People who have musical  talents cen sense to create right musical melodies just using aural senses.

Since our birth we hear sounds and musical sounds. The all we heard  musical sounds teach music to our sub conscious thus, person has musical talent, can create audible good melodies.

THE DISADVANTAGES  AND ADVANTAGES OF INSPIRATION FACTOR IN CREATING MUSIC:

The disadvantage is waiting inspiration  to me. In our stressed life is it possible to feel  many times  good and positive? The answer is "No". If the situation is as this what is the solution?.

This inspiration is very important  issue  because of music is the art which is created very hard. 

Question: "When composer got theatre play music order with deadline of 1 month should wait  inspiration to come?"

Answer:"No"

In this case the musical chordal progression plan is important. First I would like to give information about  tonal  music.

In Romanticera of Western Music history the important discussion began to be discussed that "Melody is the starting factor  of creating composition or harmony (Chord progression). Many musicologists were  divided in opinion.

Many musicians are curious  I am  sure that how Mendelssohn  created his famous "E minor" Violin concerto's theme? He had suddenly got inspiration  from angels when he was walking ? Or he played  some chordal progressions and by inspiration of chords he.composed?. We never know unless we ask him.

As a result if composer talented and has inner hearing (inner hearing is the ability of function feeling and feeling which melody or chord, or chors and melody comes next. The untalented composers such as Walter Piston could only logically knew where music should go. Let us discuss,

The logic is not enough to create a great music. We have many musical compositions that we know there are many harmonic mistakes. Contrary to these mistakes they're marvellous.

As a result the music which was emotionally created in composer's mind is much more powerfull than technically created one.

The last issue which I want to point out the creating of music must be both by technically and spiritually-emotional. The proportions is up to composer's decision.

THE TOOLS:

1-HARMONIC SEQUENCE:

This feature is one of the more important in musical composition art. As we remember the western Musical ise morely based on harmony and harmonic sequence, Thus when composer prepared good and logical harmonic sequencenat least may get some logical result.

2-GOOD BASS LINE:

The good bass line ise the support feature of musical construction.  The composer must build good bass line as much as one can.