Piano Phase
Encyclopedia
Piano Phase is a piece of music
written in 1967 by the minimalist
composer
Steve Reich
for two piano
s. It is his first attempt at applying his "phasing
" technique, which he had previously used in the tape pieces It's Gonna Rain
(1965) and Come Out
(1966), to live performance.
Reich's phasing works generally have two identical lines of music, which begin by playing synchronously, but slowly become out of phase with one another when one of them slightly speeds up. Reich had previously applied this technique only to sounds recorded on magnetic tape, but experimenting in his studio, he found it was possible for humans to replicate the effect. In Piano Phase, he has the two pianist
s begin by playing a rapid twelve note melodic
figure over and over again in unison (E4 F#4 B4 C#5 D5 F#4 E4 C#5 B4 F#4 D5 C#5). After a while, one of the pianists begins to play their part slightly faster than the other. When they are playing the second note of the figure at the same time the other pianist is playing the first note, the two pianists play at the same tempo again. They are therefore playing notes at exactly the same time, but they are not the same notes, as they were at the start of the piece. The process is repeated, so that the second pianist plays the third note as the first pianist is playing the first, then the fourth, and so on until the process has gone full circle, and the two pianists are playing in perfect unison again. The second pianist then fades out, leaving the first playing the original 12 note melody. They then seamlessly change to a similar melody made up of 8 notes. The second piano fades in again, only this time playing a different 8 note melody at the same time. The phasing then begins again. After the full eight cycles have gone through, the first pianist fades out, leaving one 8 note melody playing. After a few repetitions, the pianist then takes out the first 4 notes of the melody and the first pianist fades in unison. They phase through the now four cycles, and finish after returning in unison.
The music is made up, therefore, of nothing more than the results of applying the phasing process to the initial twelve-note melody - as such, it is a piece of process music
.
The piece is played by two pianists without breaks at any stage. A typical performance may last around fifteen to twenty minutes. Reich later adapted the piece for two marimba
s, typically played an octave higher than the original.
In 2004, a college student named Rob Kovacs gave the first solo performance of the piece where he played both piano parts at the same time on two different pianos. Reich was in the audience for this ground-breaking performance. Others, including Peter Aidu, have also given solo performances of this piece.
Reich further developed this technique in pieces like Violin Phase
(also 1967), Phase Patterns (1970), and Drumming
(1971); this latter work marks his last use (so far) of the phasing technique.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
written in 1967 by the minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
for two piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s. It is his first attempt at applying his "phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...
" technique, which he had previously used in the tape pieces It's Gonna Rain
It's Gonna Rain
It's Gonna Rain is a minimalist musical composition for magnetic tape written by Steve Reich in 1965. It lasts approximately 17 minutes and 50 seconds. It was Reich's first major work and a landmark in minimalism and process music.-Analysis:...
(1965) and Come Out
Come Out (Reich)
Come Out is a 1966 piece by American composer Steve Reich. He was asked to write this piece to be performed at a benefit for the retrial of the Harlem Six, six black youths arrested for committing a murder during the Harlem Riot of 1964 for which only one of the six was responsible...
(1966), to live performance.
Reich's phasing works generally have two identical lines of music, which begin by playing synchronously, but slowly become out of phase with one another when one of them slightly speeds up. Reich had previously applied this technique only to sounds recorded on magnetic tape, but experimenting in his studio, he found it was possible for humans to replicate the effect. In Piano Phase, he has the two pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
s begin by playing a rapid twelve note melodic
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
figure over and over again in unison (E4 F#4 B4 C#5 D5 F#4 E4 C#5 B4 F#4 D5 C#5). After a while, one of the pianists begins to play their part slightly faster than the other. When they are playing the second note of the figure at the same time the other pianist is playing the first note, the two pianists play at the same tempo again. They are therefore playing notes at exactly the same time, but they are not the same notes, as they were at the start of the piece. The process is repeated, so that the second pianist plays the third note as the first pianist is playing the first, then the fourth, and so on until the process has gone full circle, and the two pianists are playing in perfect unison again. The second pianist then fades out, leaving the first playing the original 12 note melody. They then seamlessly change to a similar melody made up of 8 notes. The second piano fades in again, only this time playing a different 8 note melody at the same time. The phasing then begins again. After the full eight cycles have gone through, the first pianist fades out, leaving one 8 note melody playing. After a few repetitions, the pianist then takes out the first 4 notes of the melody and the first pianist fades in unison. They phase through the now four cycles, and finish after returning in unison.
The music is made up, therefore, of nothing more than the results of applying the phasing process to the initial twelve-note melody - as such, it is a piece of process music
Process music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
.
The piece is played by two pianists without breaks at any stage. A typical performance may last around fifteen to twenty minutes. Reich later adapted the piece for two marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s, typically played an octave higher than the original.
In 2004, a college student named Rob Kovacs gave the first solo performance of the piece where he played both piano parts at the same time on two different pianos. Reich was in the audience for this ground-breaking performance. Others, including Peter Aidu, have also given solo performances of this piece.
Reich further developed this technique in pieces like Violin Phase
Violin Phase
Violin Phase, written by minimalist composer Steve Reich in October 1967, is an example of his phasing technique previously used in Piano Phase in which the music itself is created not by the instruments but by interactions of temporal variations on an original melody...
(also 1967), Phase Patterns (1970), and Drumming
Drumming (Reich)
Drumming is a piece by minimalist composer Steve Reich, dating from 1970-1971. Reich began composition of the work after a short visit to Africa and observing music and musical ensembles there, especially under the Anlo Ewe master drummer Gideon Alorwoyie in Ghana. His visit was cut short after...
(1971); this latter work marks his last use (so far) of the phasing technique.