0.1 How music makes sense  (Page 7/7)

Here is how the music sounds when the two pianos begin in alignment.

A little while later, the second pianist shifts the basic pattern slightly out of alignment.

Later still, the second pianist shifts the pattern further and further out of alignment.

The farther out of alignment the two pianos get, the harder it is to recognize the underlying pattern. But ask yourselfthe following: Did the pianos change speed? Did the length of the pattern cycle change? Did the pianos play in a newregister or at a different volume? When you think about it, you will be able to sense the steadfastness of the basic pattern.

Here is one more example of the pianos out of alignment.

Now, listen to this extended excerpt from Piano Phase . When you listen to the excerpt, you will notice that, when the second pianist shifts alignment, thereis a brief "blurry" transition passage; then, the new alignment is established. The 3-minute excerpt will take youthrough the first three changes of alignment.

Reich's method uses very minimal means to achieve the goal of varied repetition. He manages to create gradual varietywithout changing the register, loudness or density of the pattern. Furthermore, unlike the other examples, Reich isvery patient in his presentation: He allows each stage of the process to persist, repeating over and over again,before shifting to the next. As a result, Reich's piece is more meditative and hypnotic than the other works; it hasmore in common with the stable repetition of pop music. However, Reich is still stretching his material bymaximizing the miminum: Eventually, the work explores every possible superposition of the basic pattern with itself.

Composers are often divided up by era and style: Bach , Chopin , Stravinsky and Reich would rarely be grouped together. However, beneath their unique personalities andstyles, these composers are all striving to create musical intelligibility through varied repetition . In the examples above, each has found a different way to achieve this underlying goal.

Varied repetition is not only a guiding principle in Western art-music. In a jazz work, a pattern such as the famous"twelve-bar blues," will provide an underlying consistency on top of which the band will create ever-changing, spontaneousimprovisations. In an Indian raga, an underlying rhythmic pattern, called a tala , creates the framework for elaborate improvisations. Music sustains itself, evolves andspans the globe because of the richness of possibilities created by varied repetition .

Repetition and recognition

Listening to explicit, literal repetition is like eating a simple carbohydrate: It is easily digested and quicklyabsorbed. That is why popular music has so much literal repetition: Its success depends on making an immediateimpact. On the other hand, listening to transformed repetition is like eating a complexcarbohydrate: It takes longer to digest. More of our attention is engaged: What changed? By howmuch? How fast did it happen? How long will it persist in the new form? Observations lead to interpretation: Why did itchange? What are the consequences of what happened?

More and more, nutritionists are emphasizing that complex carbohydrates are healthier for our bodies. Similarly,transformed repetition may be healthier for our musical minds: It demands greater concentration, more astute observations andmore careful reasoning--in short, more active listening. Learning to recognize and evaluate transformedrepetition is a crucial aspect of music appreciation.

Conclusion

Because music is an abstract, non-verbal time-art, repetition lies at the heart of how music makes sense. In pop music, therepetition tends to be more literal, while in classical music, it is often varied and transformed. As much as composers are oftensearching for new sounds and instrumental combinations, they are also inventing new means of building repetition.

Musical repetition offers powerful and suggestive models for how we understand the world and ourselves. The composer MarioDavidovsky, one of America's great living composers, has said that he listens to music not with knowledge but rather for knowledge, for guidance in understanding and grappling with life. Through itsimaginative and ever-changing use of repetition, music constantly presents us with new ways to recognize the unities and consistencies underlying our experience.