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Comment by daviddaviddavid | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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 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.

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/

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...

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