Repetitive and Systemic Music
Author(s): Brian Dennis
Source: The Musical Times , Dec., 1974, Vol. 115, No. 1582 (Dec., 1974), pp. 1036-1038
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
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Repetitive and Systemic Music
Brian Dennis
In the first instance, multi-repetition is a reaction to sudden awareness of a change which has taken
the extreme fragmentation of post-war serial music. place gradually.
There is a close parallel in painting: abstract 3. When several modules interact or where the
expressionism was followed by optical and hard- material is ambiguous (for example, where the
edged geometric art. Chromatic saturation in music upbeat seems to shift) the listener explores this
led to pointillism and later to textural music; both with his ears. Sustained repetition gives time for
are musically 'right' for their high degree of dis- this individual action to take place.
sonance. Extreme consonance has produced its own4. In pieces with drones or with a strong emphasis
on the harmonic series, one's perception of
textures-chains of conjunct modules, overlapping pitch varies constantly. The harmonic field can
and inter-phasing. If one repeats a wide-interval be consciously explored note for note or one can
chromatic module to the same extent the result is allow more composite qualities to dominate.
unbearable. The delicate continuity of a Javanese Again the phenomenon is widespread in music
gamelan or the hypnotic regularity of African drums but sustained repetition (or the drones of music
or xylophones, all have had a seminal influence on like LaMonte Young's) encourages the active
modern music (Satie, Ravel, early Cage, Messiaen aural exploration of harmonies, harmonics and
their interaction.
etc); but nowhere is this more conspicuously
explored than in repetitive music. The (potentially) active role of the listener can
Much has been made of the psycho-acoustic play an important part in this music and its un-
nature of multi-repetition as an aural equivalent ofpredictability forms a tenuous link with other forms
Op-art where powerful rhythms produce a host ofof experimental music (echoes of Cage: 'These are
vibrant shapes different for each viewer and his your sounds; you can do with them as you like').
separate vantage point. Such effects are never so Most repetitive and certainly all 'systemic' music
great in repetitive music; in any case, most composers however is concerned primarily with compositional
deny that this is their aim. Nevertheless some dis- techniques, allowing the side-effects to take care of
cussion of varied perception is necessary if only to themselves. Reich's music for example is con-
emphasize the experimental nature of the approach. structed so as to explore the maximum variety of
Let us define a hypothetical norm where our aural, rhythmic interaction from the minimum of material.
aside from our intellectual, perception of a piece is Piano Phase (1967) for two pianists is a case in point.
relatively unanimous (a clear-textured Mozart Ex.1 shows the first of the three motifs which con-
Ex. 1
Piano Sonata for example). With music of greater
horizontal and vertical complexity our hearing
becomes selective so that our perception of, say, L.H. _ _
Messiaen's Epode in Chronochromie differs from stitute the entire piece. One player maintains a
person to person at any one time. The same varia- steady pulse while the other speeds up extremely
bility applies where a texture scarcely changes at all slowly until he is one semiquaver ahead, continuing
and patterns are persistently repeated. There is a this process a semiquaver at a time until both players
kind of 'forced deviation' as our ears are hypnotized are back in unison; this is the first section of the
by the flood of sound. The following model demon- piece. In the module the LH notes repeat every six
strates this paradox bearing in mind that 'unani- semiquavers and the RH notes every four. The
mous' is only relative to the idea of 'varied': rhythm is also affected by melodic fragments in two
distinct pitch areas: E and F# in the bottom, B, C#
I varied perception Stockhausen (Gruppen)- and D at the top. In general, accents tend to polarize
degree of t Ives | towards the highest, and lowest notes (i.e. away from
overt unanimous ,, Mozart Ligeti?
complexity + | the B) and both areas. contain notes from the
I varied ,, Repetitive Music -1 rhythmic groups of four and six. Thus considerable
More research needs to be done before we can rhythmic variety is assured even when the module
make any more than a general assessment of the appears on its own. In various phases two-note
range and quality of different experiences, particu-chords emerge which accent the material in a variety
larly of modem music; but questionnaires haveof ways. Here are two examples: in Phase 3 a strong
shown that with repetitive music the following triple rhythm is broken at the end of the figure
kinds of phenomena are widespread: (ex.2); and in Phase 6 the melodic aspect is sub-
Ex. 2
1. One's pulse rate can be affected (by slow
repetitive music in particular); the sounds be-
come meditative objects, relaxing the mind.
2. Even with smoothly phased pieces like the merged by the unison on E, B and D and the strong
electronic loop pieces of Steve Reich, theoffbeat C# and F# chord, probably heard as the
rhythms seem to 'jump'. The strong counter-downbeat (ex.3). The first beat of each example is
rhythms and contrasts which are built into the Ex. 3
process (see below), are heard at different times
by different people. The 'jump' is often the
1036
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by no means heard always as the downbeat and the Ex. 5 x4 X6
(E L5 .: P7p
momentary aural confusion as one pianist speeds up (,X{.~h,.h,:: ':^ ~.h,~,:I :1
is greatly enhanced where there is an abrupt shift ( a. -- 4 b. -b.;4
of accent (i.e. the emergence of a new 'synthetic'
downbeat). Finally the form of the section is ('~'~-:4 :'":
palindromic except that the first beat (apparent or ©| 11: |: a" . .<4 :11:a.x7 :||:b.x
not) of each phase is displaced when repeated. This a feature of the linear music of Ph
means that as regards shifting accents one may sense parallel intervals in rhythmic uni
a new downbeat in the second appearance of a Frederick Rjewski's Les Moutons d
figure, then one's attention might switch to the melody instruments and drums. Th
downbeat one had 'identified' earlier. As with a flata pulse against which a uniform m
drawing of a cube, one can oscillate between two expands, reaches its furthest limit an
The piece, which was written for t
separate 'views'. These are just a few of the complex
ways one might listen to this piece tracing thechestra, ends with an improvisation
continual shifts of melodic and rhythmic interest,Change Machine for four toy pianos Alec Hill
the dominance of certain notes or chords and the applies this kind of procedure to a radically different
texture created by change-ringing permutations.
ambiguity of accent.
Ex.6 shows the first three segments; each is repeated
By contrast, Riley's approach is more intuitive
Ex. 6 5 2 1 4 3 6 5 2 4 1 35
and the bulk of his music is much less ambiguous.
Instrumental colour is also more important even
when instruments are not specified (Reich relies on
monochrome combinations). As the players move
through the material repeating each segment as
often as desired, their varied timbres create a
'colour structure'. Since some segments favour ^i -L: ' T r f
the same number of times by all players (usually
certain instruments more than others, each player
can dwell on those which suit him most; segments
six or eight times) and this consolidates each rhythm.
The time signatures expand from 6/16 to 18/16, and
can also be omitted. The procedure is disarmingly
there is no contraction. The change ('Plain Hunt')
simple. In C, for example, consists of 53 modules
of varying length and time signature played against
applies to all four parts at once, as can be seen
above, while the procedure for lengthening is linear.
a 6/8 pulse. Each player starts to repeat the first
The sequence for making a certain note a quaver
module, beginning when he likes. He moves to the
follows the original ordering of notes in segment 1.
next when he judges the time is right, then on to
the third and so on. Experience is needed in building
The top part starts with note 2 (G#), becoming a
quaver, and is followed by 1, 6, 5, 4 and 3. Part 2
up a rich variety of counterpoints; some players
must hold back while others move ahead and the
starts with note 1 (E) and goes 1-6-5-4-3-2. Part 3
number of overlaps should vary from one to six, goes 4-5-6-1-2-3, and part 4, 3-4-5-6-1-2. When all
the notes are quavers the lengthening continues
seven, eight or more. The effect is rhythmically
with dotted quavers following the same sequence
enriched by the relative lengths and time signatures
of the modules while the harmony is carefully of notes per part. This procedure ensures the maxi-
mum rhythmic variety against the permutations of
restricted. Riley's material is mostly composed
'live'. His recent music which veers towards rock the 'change'.
Random permutations have also been used,
is rarely written down. Sometimes the modules are
notably in John White's sequence of Gothic Chord
closely linked, as with 1-5, while the long breve of
pieces (all based on 5th chords), where they deter-
6 provides a textural contrast. Module 7 is particu-
mine the number of repeats for each player in an
larly striking when players arrive on a different
beat in the bar and continue to overlap (ex.4). overlapping system. This has the advantage of
Ex. 4
producing a varied contrapuntal texture which
1 2 3 4 guarantees that the players return together at regular
intervals. In other words, the total of all numbers
$ ^ 4J IIh
from (say) 6 to 12 remains the 4
same, while J
the
5 6 7
sequence (e.g. 7-11-6-9-12-10-8) is random for each
player. If this is applied to a sequence of rhythm
The and chords (as in White's orchestral
restrictions of piece Chord
a pi
written Breaking Machine), periods
about theof polyphony are same
relieved
way to theby 'tonal centres' augmented by 'milestone chords'
exploratio
Several in the brass.
composers have
relationships It is difficult to in
determine precisely
orderat what point
Take the repetitive music becomes 'systemic'. If we take Chris
juxtaposition o
example. Hobbs's definition English
The of the latter as 'music in which c
two-pianothe structure
piece and note to note procedure
14 are dictated
and
number ofby a repeats
numerically expressible construct', some
to of the co
Thus the pieces so far discussed come
music close to this. Chance
always m
back to and individual choice are As
unison. replaced by precise
the t
increase anumbers of repeats or the segments themselves
quaver at are a
return in numerically
similar derived. The idea of number
fashioagainst
number is
lengthening also frequently found. My own series of on
segments
1037
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fully explored, the unit moves to eight repeated
TYPEWRITTEN MUSIC semiquavers followed by a crotchet, and later to
has all the clarity of 'the printed note'. 12 and a crotchet. This is one of several pieces in
Let us supply you with typewritten copies which White explores varying lengths of rest.
of your manuscripts. Finally there is the possibility of selecting (in-
tuitively or randomly) from a fixed matrix a series
ARTWORK FOR PRINTING of appropriate pitches or rhythms. My own Poems
A SPECIALITY of Solitude (seven songs for voice and piano) draw
material from a series of overlapping permutations
of two four-note figures. The basic four pitch and
further details from
rhythmic values of each figure (related to the
Beaminster Music Services, harmonics 1-8) are filled in by the remaining four
Dommett Farm, Buckland St Mary, notes in descending sequence. The table below shows
Chard, Somerset TA20 3JH
the first six 'bars' of the matrix (i.e. the first two
Tel: Buckland St Mary (046034) 261
permutations of each four-note figure).
Each song selects material in a different way.
Frame Pieces for percussion use the numbers 1 to 7 For example Song 2 uses all the major notes (bold
set against each other in durations of one to seven numbers) while Song 3 uses a choice of half the
quavers and the pitch of each is determined by its fill-in notes (italic numbers). Ex.8 shows the first
counterpart in the harmonic series (1-7). Thus the EiK. 8 Moderato/moto accel. _ .. _ rit. _._. _ . _._
rhythm is fixed throughout like a series of separately
chiming clocks, while the pitches change uniformly
from one chord to another note by note. This has
the effect of highlighting the rhythm in a variety of
ways.
In his two Number Pieces Chris Hobbs uses
P ' _ 5 ,_ -i--- - A _
larger durations against each other. In Number six bars of Song 3 (the voice enters in bar 10).
Piece I for two percussionists, for example, the Layers 2 and 4 of the matrix use the harmonics of
piece begins with 10 against 11, 12 and 13 (each low F; layers 1 and 3 relate to its inversion (from
'chain' oscillates between a temple block and top F): modulation begins in bar 5. In contrast
cymbal), and ends with 17 against 18, 19 and 20. Song 4 (ex.9) uses only layer 4 (on low G), with
In the middle each chain follows a sequence which
increases a quaver at a time from 11 to 20. The
Ex. 9 Slow
position of this sequence varies with each layer in
order to arrive at the fixed new duration at each
appropriate point. As with several of Hobbs's
systemic pieces the process is only partially P A^
audible, while the choice of procedure, its instru-
mentation and general character, are determined
by purely musical c
music is m athemati
say, comptuter music but from the thousands of techniques developed from repetitive and simple
ocedures only a few are appropriate for number systems. From the extreme economy of
possible pr
one's resou irces and for the musical images one is Reich and Riley, whose processes are totally audible,
eate. John White's Photo-Finish Machine, albeit 'variably', we can now explore areas where
trying to cr
for examplle, supplies a set of permutated figures systems are partly heard and partly hidden.
which over] lap unpredictably. The number sequence In effect, the textural and structural possibilities
which dete rmines the rests for each part creates a of systems are limitless. What was once the 'new
varied and intriguing counterpoint with moments extreme' has been enriched by permutation, modu-
of rhythmi ic unison which are themselves unpre- lation, layering, selection and, above all, the varied
dictable. TI he choice of system is exactly 'right' for use of numbers. For the listener the note-to-note
the pattern and its overall structuring. Ex.7 shows experience of the music is impossible to define. The
Ex. 7 sounds are pleasant and the 'content' subdued. It is
Ln_j v ^yTTTTt rrrffT^Te- a music of discovery: from a myriad possible forms,
_j / t± {L= l1 -i_; ~structure and texture are interfused; new images
are defined. Only the listener with a blissful disregard
the first foi
four temple ur figures. The npece is for two sets of for all the numbers, structures and permutations
tblocks.
rests-the t top numberThe
fornumbfo
player 1erIs
andrepresenta
the bottomott which concern the composer can assess the quality
opk .nu
for player .2Like many forei pieces
systemic plere it
1 ti
is aancomplex
h btompe of the image: the actual effect of the music.
I would like to thank David Smith for the use of his detailed
type of carnon. After the two-note figure has been analysis of Reich's Piano Phase.
1 4 3 2 5 8 3 2 7 6 32T 2 5 3 2 876 32 I
432 8 7 6 32 15 32 876 32 15 3 2 432
2 1 3 1 6 54 7 4 13 1 65 4 1 7 54 1 2 1
3 1 7 5 121 654 7 54 2 1 65 1 3 1
1038
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