Electric Counterpoint Key Features
Here are the main points from Steve Reich's 3rd movement:
- The key is in E but the piece keeps the listener guessing right up until the bass guitar confirms by playing the note E at the end of it's two bar ostinato. It then changes to C minor. You can remember the key from the title: Electric Counterpoint, where the beginning letter shows the order of what the key is.
- Tonal ambiguity - keeping the key uncertain.
- The texture gradually builds up in layers and thins out towards the end.
- Piece concentrates on rhythmic development just as much as it does on melodic development.
- Changes metre is 3/2 (three minim beats in a bar) and occasionally changes to 12/8 (twelve quaver beats in a bar).
- Rhythm is syncopated.
- The live guitar plays a resultant melody.
- Guitar 1 (first guitar you can hear at start) plays a one bar ostinato.
- There's a four part guitar canon on bars 1-23.
- Bass 1 and 2 introduced gradually, with their ostinatoes being built up.
- Use of panning - different instruments coming out of different speakers to create different textures.
- Live guitar introduces percussive texture chords which produces a strumming effect that cuts across rest of the parts.
- Shock to the system when key changes to C minor as it's unexpected.
- This piece has a rhythmic counterpoint being every part has a different rhythm and note.
- Unpredictable changes to key and time signature.
- Changing of keys become more frequent, building tension.
- Big crescendo at end to build tension.
- Structure is ABA with Coda at the end.
|