Minimalism

History and character

Minimalism was born in the United States in the early 1960s as a reaction to the complexity of European serialism: La Monte Young (drone, just intonation), Terry Riley (In C, 1964: 53 fragments played by a free ensemble over a pulse of repeated C), Steve Reich (It's Gonna Rain 1965 and Piano Phase 1967 with phasing; Drumming 1971; Music for 18 Musicians 1974–76) and Philip Glass (Music in Twelve Parts, Einstein on the Beach 1976 with Robert Wilson). The key ideas: constant pulse, repetition of short cells, gradual and audible change (process), consonant and static harmony, influence of African, Balinese and Indian music, of modal jazz and of rock.

From the 1980s the language becomes post-minimalism: John Adams (Shaker Loops, Short Ride in a Fast Machine), Arvo Pärt with his “tintinnabuli” style (a source of many contemplative film scores, even though it is not American minimalism in the strict sense), Michael Nyman (the scores for Peter Greenaway, The Piano 1993), Gavin Bryars. In cinema minimalism enters with Glass (Koyaanisqatsi 1982, Mishima 1985, Kundun 1997, The Hours 2002, with Oscar nominations), Nyman, Reich (rarely in film, much in sampling), and becomes a current language with post-classical music and electronics: Max Richter (On the Nature of Daylight, 2004, used in Arrival and Shutter Island), Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory of Everything, Sicario, Arrival), Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, 2000, with the Kronos Quartet), Thomas Newman (American Beauty, with marimba and repetitive percussion), Hans Zimmer (Interstellar, 2014: repeated organ arpeggios).

In film, minimalist repetition works because it creates psychological time: an ostinato that does not change conveys waiting, obsession, inevitability, the passing of life; a minimal change (an added note, a chord that shifts) becomes an enormous event. It is also an economical language to produce (small ensembles, piano, strings, electronics) and very well suited to editing, because the cells can be cut at any bar.

Scales and keys

Minimalism uses little material but very precise material. Roman numerals in minor relative to natural minor.

Major (Ionian) and pentatonic — static luminosity

• Ionian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (2-2-1-2-2-2-1). D major: D E F# G A B C#. Chords: I (D) ii (Em) iii (F#m) IV (G) V (A) vi (Bm) vii° (C#°).
• Major pentatonic: 1 2 3 5 6. D: D E F# A B — no semitones: cells can be superimposed without clashes, ideal for phasing (Reich, Piano Phase uses a 12-note pattern on five pitches: E F# B C# D).
• Characteristic note: absence of tension toward the leading tone; a sense of “suspended time”.
• Use: cells of 5–12 notes repeated and superimposed; open fourth and fifth chords.
• Common mistake: changing too often: the charm lies in constancy.

Natural minor (Aeolian) — melancholy in motion

• Formula 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (2-1-2-2-1-2-2). C minor: C D Eb F G Ab Bb. Chords: i (Cm) ii° (D°) III (Eb) iv (Fm) v (Gm) VI (Ab) VII (Bb).
• Characteristic note: b6 (Ab): the i–VI oscillation is the breath of much post-minimalism.
• Example: Philip Glass — Opening (Glassworks, 1982), in C minor, right-hand triplet arpeggios against left-hand duplets.
• Use: piano arpeggios (Glass), slow crescendo strings (Richter).

Harmonic minor in Glass's cycles

• 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. A harmonic minor: A B C D E F G#. Chords: i (Am) ii° (B°) III+ (C+) iv (Dm) V (E) VI (F) vii° (G#°).
• Use: arpeggiated i–VI–iv–V cycles (Am–F–Dm–E): the leading tone G# gives the loop a circular push. Very typical of Glass's style (e.g. the scores of The Hours).

Dorian and Mixolydian — modal cells

• Dorian: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. E Dorian: E F# G A B C# D. Chords (relative to natural minor): i (Em) ii (F#m) III (G) IV (A) v (Bm) #vi° (C#°) VII (D). The major IV brightens the loop.
• Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7. A Mixolydian: A B C# D E F# G. Chords: I (A) ii (Bm) iii° (C#°) IV (D) v (Em) vi (F#m) bVII (G).
• Use: Reich and Adams build entire sections on one mode without cadences.

Tintinnabuli (Arvo Pärt)

• Two voices: a melodic one (M) moving stepwise within the scale, and a “tintinnabuli” one (T) that plays only the notes of the tonic triad (in A minor: A C E), the nearest one above or below the M note.
• Example: Arvo Pärt — Spiegel im Spiegel (1978), Für Alina (1976); used in countless films and trailers.

How to choose

Ionian/pentatonic for bright, rhythmic processes (Reich); Aeolian and harmonic minor for emotional cycles (Glass, Richter); modal for stasis without direction; tintinnabuli for the sacred and contemplative. The simpler the material, the more the precision of performance and timbre matters.

Harmony

Static harmony and cycles

• Stasis: a single chord or a pedal for dozens of bars; the interest lies in rhythm and timbre.
• Short repeated cycles (2–4 chords): i–VI, i–VI–III–VII, i–VI–iv–V; the cycle repeats identically while the texture above changes.
• Very slow harmonic rhythm in the process (Reich: in Music for 18 Musicians each chord of the initial cycle of 11 becomes the basis of a section lasting several minutes, like a cantus firmus — from the composer's note).
• Additive chords: triads with 2, 4, 6 added notes (add9, sus2, 6/9), often in open position; diatonic clusters (three adjacent notes) sound soft when they are within the scale.
• Tonic ambiguity: the same cycle read as vi–IV–I–V or i–VI–III–VII; Richter and Jóhannsson exploit this “floating”.
• Voice leading: minimal movements, common tones held between one chord and the next; the bass line is the real engine (often descending by step).
• Pedal: the tonic or fifth sustained by the organ or double basses makes the cycle hypnotic.

Density

Few voices (solo piano, string quartet, small ensemble), unison doublings to thicken the timbre; the crescendo is achieved by adding instruments and octaves, not chords.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Constant pulse: repeated eighth or sixteenth notes (marimba, piano, strings in spiccato or “pulsed notes” in Music for 18 Musicians); the tempo does not waver.
• Phasing: two performers play the same pattern; one speeds up slightly until it shifts by one note relative to the other, then settles (Reich, Piano Phase, Violin Phase). In the DAW: two copies of the same sequence, one at a slightly different tempo (e.g. 120 and 120.6 bpm) or shifted by a sixteenth note every N bars.
• Additive and subtractive process: the cell grows one note at a time (Glass: 1, 1-2, 1-2-3…) or fills with rests that turn into notes (Reich, Drumming).
• Polyrhythm: 3 against 2 (triplets against eighth notes: Glass, Opening), 3 against 4, cycles of different lengths superimposed (a pattern of 5 eighth notes over one of 4 eighth notes that realign every 20).
• Displaced accents: the same cell of 12 eighth notes grouped 3+3+3+3 or 2+2+2+2+2+2 changes perception (hemiola, Reich, Clapping Music: 12 eighth notes, 8 claps, one performer shifts the pattern by one eighth note at a time).
• Breath: in Music for 18 Musicians the winds and voices play pulsed notes for the length of a breath: physiology becomes form.
• Swing: 0. Microtiming: in real recordings the micro-imperfections of the pulsing are life; in the DAW humanize by ±3–8 ms and vary velocity cyclically, not randomly.

Drums

The role of percussion in minimalism

There is no drum set: the “rhythm section” is made up of pitched percussion instruments (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel), the piano played percussively and hand percussion (hand claps, claves, maracas).

• Marimba and xylophone: carry the pulse in eighth or sixteenth notes; often several marimbas play out-of-phase patterns that create a resulting pattern (Reich, Drumming part III; Music for 18 Musicians with three marimbas).
• Vibraphone: section-change signals (in Music for 18 Musicians a vibraphone pattern, played once, announces each transition, as in Balinese and West African music — from Reich's note).
• Hand claps and woods: Clapping Music (1972), pattern of 12 eighth notes.
• Pitched drums: tuned bongos in Drumming (part I).

Where the accents fall

The basic cell is often 12 eighth notes (3×4 or 4×3) or 8 eighth notes; accents are not fixed on the 1 as on the drum set, but emerge from the superimposition. The ear looks for “resulting patterns” (hidden melodies created by the interlocking).

In film

• Light repetitive percussion (Thomas Newman: marimba, kalimba, small hand drums) or electronic pulses (arpeggiators, sequencers) under slow strings.
• In post-classical crescendos: a soft bass drum or timpani pulse in quarter notes that enters midway through the piece and grows in dynamics.

Dynamics and programming

• Velocity not flat: a slight accent on the first of each group (e.g. +10–15 velocity every 3 or 4 notes) to make the grouping audible.
• Round robin or slight variations in pitch/timbre; never the same identical MIDI note 200 times in a row.
• Typical mistakes: rigid quantization + identical velocity = “ringtone” effect; too many instruments playing the same grid (loses transparency); reverb too long that smears the fast pulses.

Bass

• Pedals: double basses, organ, synth or the piano's left hand hold the tonic or a very slow cycle; in phasing the bass is often silent.
• Low ostinato: the left hand in octaves (Glass) or bass clarinets and cellos in repeated eighth notes.
• “Guide” bass: in post-classical cycles the bass descends by step (C–Bb–Ab–G) and makes the cycle readable even with few notes above.
• Hybrid: soft synth bass (sine + a little triangle, low-pass at 300–500 Hz) doubling the pedal; sub at 40–60 Hz only at climaxes (Interstellar).
• Frequencies: keep the fundamental clean (35–120 Hz), no distortion; repetition makes every resonance obvious.

Harmonic instruments

• Piano: repeated arpeggios (Glass), pulsed chords (Reich, four pianos in Music for 18 Musicians), single notes with pedal (Richter, Frahm). The “felt” piano (with felt between hammers and strings) is the post-classical timbre par excellence.
• Organ (electric or pipe): fast arpeggios (Glass, Einstein on the Beach; Zimmer, Interstellar), sustained chords.
• Strings: quartet or string orchestra in repeated eighth notes, long chords, very long crescendos (Richter); light tremolos.
• Marimba, vibraphone: percussive harmony.
• Synth: arpeggiators, pads, sequencers; in the Icelandic school (Jóhannsson, Arnalds) electronic processing of strings and piano.
• Voicing: open position with fifths in the bass; middle register (C3–C5) for the cells; avoid low thirds.

Melody and vocals

• Long melodies over the pulse: solo cello or violin (Richter), voice or clarinet with sustained notes that change slowly.
• Melody as cell: in process music there is no “theme” in the traditional sense, but a pattern that, superimposed on itself, generates resulting melodies.
• Voices: wordless voices (vocalises, syllables, numbers and solfège in Glass, Einstein on the Beach), female voices on pulsed notes (Reich), chorus as an instrument (Glass, Koyaanisqatsi with the deep bass singing the title). In post-classical: whispered or distant voice, often treated with reverb and delay.
• Register: middle and without virtuosic excess; the beauty comes from the interweaving.
• Effects: synced delay (dotted eighth notes) to multiply the cells; loop pedal; tape loops (Reich, It's Gonna Rain).

Instruments

Piano (even several pianos), electric and pipe organ, marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, strings (quartet or string orchestra), clarinets and bass clarinet, flutes, soprano sax, wordless female voices, chorus, hand claps, synths (arpeggiators, pads), tapes and loops, live electronics.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — Piano for arpeggios and single notes: Upright or grand model with close microphones, soft velocity, sustain pedal; lower the hammer volume for an intimate “felt” sound.
• Jup-8 V — Synth arpeggios: Arpeggiator synced in eighth or sixteenth notes, two oscillators (pulse + saw) with low-pass at 1–2 kHz and a short envelope: the electronic pulse à la Tangerine Dream / post-minimalism.
• Prophet-5 V — Warm pulses and pads: Sequences with soft poly-mod and slow pads; perfect for cycles of 2–4 chords.
• Augmented Strings — Crescendo strings: Long chords that grow in dynamics with the macro; the synthetic side adds movement to very long crescendos.
• Augmented Voices — Wordless voices: Vocal ostinatos and choir pads for the “Glass chorus” effect.
• Modular V — Sequences and generative processes: Sequencer with different lengths to create polyrhythms (5-against-4 patterns), drones and slow modulations: electronic phasing.
• B-3 V — Arpeggiated organ: 16' 8' 4' registers without percussion, Leslie stopped: the electric organ of Glass's 1970s ensembles.

Song structure

Forms by process or by panels

• Continuous process: a single gradual process from beginning to end (phasing, accumulation). Free duration: from 5 to 60 minutes.
• Panels: sections with a pattern repeated N times (indicated in the score as “×4”, “×8”), then a change; in Glass the figures repeat a set number of times.
• Arch: ABCDCBA form (some sections of Music for 18 Musicians, according to Reich's note).

In film (typical post-minimalist cue, 3–5 minutes)

Arrangement

Enter and exit one layer at a time; keep the ostinato constant and change only one variable at a time (register, dynamics, timbre, number of voices). The “drop” of minimalism is removing the pulse and leaving a sustained chord.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Absolute transparency: every line of the texture must be audible, the pulse stable and even, the space wide but not smeared. Two aesthetics: acoustic ensemble (Reich, Glass live: close and defined sound) and post-classical (Richter, Frahm, Arnalds: very intimate piano with mechanical noises, distant strings, long reverbs, electronics).

Piano

• EQ: high-pass 30–40 Hz; −2/−3 dB at 200–300 Hz if boomy; in post-classical +1/+2 dB at 3–5 kHz for the “touch”, and the hammer and pedal noise is left in (it is part of the aesthetic).
• Compression: light (opto or vari-mu, 2:1, attack 20–30 ms, release 200–300 ms, 2–3 dB) to even out the arpeggio; parallel if you need intimacy.
• Saturation: light tape for warmth; in post-classical also very slight tape wow/flutter.
• Space: short room (0.8–1.2 s) for definition + long hall or plate (3–5 s, pre-delay 20–40 ms) at a low send; in post-classical reverbs of 5–8 s and very discreet shimmer.
• Stereo: A–B microphones; in sampled patches choose the “player” or “audience” perspective and stick with it.

Marimba, vibraphone, pitched percussion

• EQ: high-pass 80–120 Hz (low marimba: 60 Hz), −2 dB at 400–600 Hz (“boxy” wood), watch the 2–5 kHz transients.
• Compression: almost none; a soft limiter if the mallet peaks are excessive.
• Space: natural room, reverb 1.5–2 s; reverb that is too long smears fast eighth notes.
• Panning: several marimbas spread L 50 / C / R 50 to bring out the resulting patterns.

Strings

• EQ: as in the orchestra (high-pass per section, −2 dB at 250–400 Hz, control 2.5–4 kHz); for slow crescendos a light +1 dB shelf at 10 kHz.
• Compression: none; crescendos should be drawn with CC1/CC11 and faders.
• Space: hall 2.5–3.5 s, pre-delay 20–30 ms.
• Panning: quartet with violin I L 40, violin II L 15, viola R 15, cello R 40; string orchestra as in the hall.

Voices

• High-pass 100 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, light de-esser; opto compression 2:1. Reich's pulsed voices: close-miked, short reverb.
• Post-classical: distant voice with plate or long hall and tempo-synced delay (dotted eighth note, feedback 20–30%, filtered 300 Hz–5 kHz).

Synths and electronics

• Arpeggios: high-pass 120–200 Hz, tempo-synced delay, alternating panning or slow auto-pan; keep them 3–6 dB below the acoustic instruments.
• Pads: low-pass at 6–8 kHz so they do not compete with the strings; moderate chorus.
• Granular processing: reduce the upper-mid frequencies to leave presence to the real instruments.

Buses and groups

Buses: pianos, pitched percussion, strings, voices, electronics. On the master bus very slow compression (1.5:1, 1 dB) or none. If the piece uses phasing, check mono compatibility (identical patterns with minimal delays can create comb filters).

Sidechain

Generally no. In hybrid pieces with a soft kick pulse, very light ducking (1–2 dB) of the pads on the kick.

Master

• Chain: minimal EQ, slow and light compression, transparent limiter.
• Approximate target: acoustic −20/−16 LUFS integrated, post-classical −18/−14, true peak −1 dBTP, high LRA (10–18 LU) for long crescendos. Short-term at peaks −12/−10.
• Do not compress the pulse: it must “breathe” with the natural dynamics.

Common mistakes

• Rigid quantization and velocity (mechanical sound).
• Long reverb on fast patterns (loss of the eighth notes).
• Too many layers in the same octave: the texture turns gray.
• Crescendo made with the limiter instead of with the arrangement.
• Piano too bright and compressed (listening fatigue in long, repetitive pieces).

Reference tracks for the mix

• Steve Reich — Music for 18 Musicians (ECM recording 1978).
• Philip Glass — Opening (Glassworks, 1982).
• Max Richter — On the Nature of Daylight (The Blue Notebooks, 2004).
• Jóhann Jóhannsson — The Theory of Everything (2014).
• Nils Frahm — Says (Spaces, 2013).

Reference listening

• Terry Riley — In C (1964)
• Steve Reich — Piano Phase (1967)
• Steve Reich — Music for 18 Musicians (1976)
• Arvo Pärt — Spiegel im Spiegel (1978)
• Philip Glass — Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
• Philip Glass — Opening (Glassworks, 1982)
• Michael Nyman — The Heart Asks Pleasure First (Lezioni di piano, 1993)
• Clint Mansell — Lux Aeterna (Requiem for a Dream, 2000)
• Philip Glass — Morning Passages (The Hours, 2002)
• Max Richter — On the Nature of Daylight (2004)
• Hans Zimmer — Cornfield Chase (Interstellar, 2014)
• Jóhann Jóhannsson — Arrival (2016)