John Adams and Minimalism

Phasing is a musical technique pioneered by Steve Reich in which two performers begin playing exactly the same repeating pattern, perfectly synchronized.

Then, one performer gradually speeds up ever so slightly, causing the patterns to move out of alignment. As they shift against each other, fascinating new rhythms and combinations emerge—even though the original musical material remains unchanged!

Eventually, the two patterns may come back into synchronization.

It's a remarkable example of how something musically complex can emerge from an extremely simple idea.

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