Programming Steve Reich’s Piano Phase in SuperCollider | Hacker News Reader

Programming Steve Reich’s Piano Phase in SuperCollider

ezralafleur.com

74 pointsezralafleur12 comments

And here is a "Piano Phase" written in C with no libraries that fits in an (old-style, 140 character) tweet:

main(){int l=999,i,j;int v[]={133,119,89,80,75,119,113,80,89,119,75,80};for(;;){putchar(250*(j++%v[i%12]&&(j+i)%v[i%12]==0));i+=(j%l)==0;}}

Just compile and run that with "a.out | aplay".

It's been a while since I wrote this, and I remeber cheating a bit somewhere, but not surprisingly I can't figure out what it's doing much less how it's cheating.

that's funny

For those not familiar with Steve Reich's music, it makes great programming music, in my opinion. Melodic, repetitive, propulsive and most pieces lack a foregrounded instrument vying for your attention.

Some favorite pieces of mine are:

  - New York Counterpoint (esp the version with Evan Ziporyn on overdubbed clarinets)
  - Electric Counterpoint (esp the version with Pat Metheny on overdubbed guitars)
  - Different Trains
  - Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards
  - Tehillim (probably not good coding music)

The 5 disc Nonesuch retrospective is a really great entry point / survey.

I would add Music for 18 Musicians.

EDIT: here is my favorite recording of this masterpiece by ECM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILpCKQlDmhc

and Drumming

and Come Out

Drumming is fascinating to watch players perform

Come Out has amazing analog audio tape phasing

It's all on the aforementioned Nonesuch Retrospective.

And Clapping Music [1]. Clapping Music became a ipad app [2] for while and can be an entertaining party game by trying to "play" it with a few friends.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcFyl8amoEE

[2]] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/steve-reichs-clapping-music/id...

Absolutely agreed. Reich is featured quite a bit in mixes on musicforprogramming.net[1], which is a frequent go-to of mine. Definitely recommend it!

[1] http://musicforprogramming.net/

In addition to Mf18M and Drumming, which have been suggested by others, I'd also add Six Marimbas/Pianos, Four Organs, and in particular Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ, as Steve Reich pieces that I happen to enjoy more than the ones you enjoy :-)

Mf18M and MfMIVO always put me in a very contemplative mood.

And for anybody reading who might be interested in other pieces of minimalistic music, I might recommend

- Hallelujah Junction - John Adams

- Common Tones in Simple Time - John Adams

- Harmonliehre - John Adams

- Nixon in China - John Adams

- The Dharma at Big Sur - John Adams

- Music for Blocks of Wood - Steve Reich

- I am Sitting in a Room - Alvin Lucier (particularly the extended version)

- Glassworks - Phillip Glass

- Music in Twelve Parts - Phillip Glass

- Metamorphosis - Phillip Glass

- Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread - David Ives

I have a peculiar reaction to Reich’s music. Part of my brain thinks it’s silly, but another part is thrilled.

Off topic, but possibly the people here might be able to help: Is there a name for the type of music where the theme evolves over time. Not (obviously) repeating, no echoing on another instrument, just progression. The bass line in Free's Mr Big (https://youtu.be/Azkef2lXW88?t=282) is the classic example for me. Is it a one-part fugue? or something with no name that just happens and has no name?

I asked a musician theorist friend and he said Minimalism, but that doesn't seem quite right.

The classical term for what you describe as far as overall form is concerned would be through-composed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through-composed_music). For themes/melodies specifically I think they could either be repeated or not in any genre (think improvised sections vs. thematic sections).

For a more all-encompassing take on music that evolves over time and where the tie-in to minimalism might be, Generative Music as originally conceived by Brian Eno (https://inmotionmagazine.com/eno1.html) is where it's at

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