Exercise: Exploring composition for Percussion

Reich – Clapping Music (1972) found on Spotify

This piece definitely represents Reich's ideas surrounding the minimalist movement, with only two musicians ‘clapping’ throughout.   It creates some interesting ideas surrounding rhythm and the use of layering and phasing, but the limited pitch of the instruments means that this piece is restricted in its exploration of harmony. 

I found the phasing of the two musicians to be quite interesting, as separately they prove to be based on quite a simple rhythm, but when the two rhythms are mixed, they create a rich, tribal feel and provide a ‘foot-tapping’ rhythm for the listener.  Whilst the two unison rhythms create a great sound, it is the separation of the two motifs that creates a new depth to the piece.  By ‘offsetting’ these motifs, Reich creates a deeply complex sound, but still manages to maintain a constant ‘beat’ to the whole composition.

Despite its lack of harmonic properties, I found the simplicity of this composition to be its success.  Reich has displayed his knowledge of rhythm and the abilities to blend two very simple rhythms in order to create a complex rhythm piece.