Terry Riley Research Paper

Varun Agnihotri

Professor Isaiah Jackson

History of Music in the Euro Tradition

29 October 2017

Terry Riley and Minimalism

Composer Terry Riley, born on June 24th 1935, in Colfax, California, was among the most revolutionary composers of the postwar era and is also regarded as a minimalist pioneer. He is well known for his introduction of repetition into Western music motifs. He has also worked on early experiments in tape loops and delay system which have left a long lasting mark on the experimental music produce (Ankeny). Riley studied classical composition at Berkeley and had worked with early electronic music composers. He also studied Indian classical music and the concepts of Raag and Taal and complex rhythmic patterning (Opinion).

He began composing In C in May 1964. The idea for one of the most important and influential pieces of music of the last half of the 20th century came to Riley while he was travelling on a bus in San Francisco (Potter 108). It made minimalism a recognisable style, and the use of interlocking repetitive phrases reflected it as a modern classical, ambient and experimental electronic piece. In C consists of 53 musical fragments that can be played by any number and combination of players and instruments, in any order and at any speed. It also has no set duration of time. The piece can be easily performed by anyone. The directions of the performance state that the players should try to stay within 2-3 phrases of each other. The phrases must be played in order, although some may be skipped. One musician plays the note C in repeated eighth notes, usually on a piano or a pitched-percussion instrument. It acts as a metronome or a pulse for the

“In C represents a major shift of dominant musical culture away from the East Coast and its Europhilic aesthetic to the West Coast, and in particular to California (Carl).” The piece is considered to personify the hippy culture of west coast America and tends to induce a trippy and blissed-out state of mind for the listener. Riley’s piece is a common tune performed by musicians who are brought up in the western classical tradition, who give melodic expression a higher priority than the rhythmic element (Opinion). And because the score of the piece does not have numbered measures, the players have to listen to each other’s parts while performing and work it out to make it sound organized and colorful. Many people find performing this piece similar to jamming in a jazz ensemble