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Minimalism as an art form

Minimalism is an art movement that began in post-World War II Western art. The movement covered music, visual arts and other mediums, but is most strongly associated with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s.

As a reaction against other 20th century styles, such as serialism and expressionism, composers wanted to move away from these complex genres and return to more basic musical concepts. Minimalist composers constructed their music from simple rhythmic or note patterns referred to as cells. These cells are repeated continuously and are only subject to occasional changes over time. Most minimalist music is diatonic and the patterns are layered on top of each other to create harmony. Some music in this style is based solely on rhythm cells, such as Steve Reich’s Clapping Music. Minimalist composers often experimented with music technology in order to produce repeating cells called loops.

Common features of the genre

Minimalist music often features:

• layers of ostinati
• constantly repeated patterns that are subjected to gradual changes
• layered textures
• interlocking repeated phrases and rhythms
• diatonic harmony