Using music concepts and compositional methodsComposing minimalist music
Original music can be created in a variety of ways, through exploring and developing music ideas in a range of genres and styles through composing, improvising or arranging activities.
Ostinato is a good device to use when creating a minimalist piece. An ostinato is a pattern that repeats over and over again.
Repetition is a useful technique to use, so try and create an exact copy of your musical pattern or try altering the pattern in some way, for example:
miss out some of the notes
change the pitch of some notes
change the duration of some notes
change the pitch of the entire phrase
Daniel Ciobanu plays the 7th movement from "Musica Ricercata" by György Ligeti, which is an example of a minimalist piece of music written for a solo piano in the 20th Century. Listen for the ostinato.
