Minimal Music Article Response
I definitely feel that minimalist American music is an extension of Arnold Schoenberg's music. Schoenberg was pushing away from the traditional classical music of the 19th century and before because many felt that all the good music of that type had already been composed. I, personally, have never believed that so I look at minimalist music somewhat skeptically. Sometimes I feel that it isn't music at all, just coordinated sound. For me, music is at its best when it elicits an emotional response from the listener. Often I feel this is lacking with a lot of modern music like Glass, Cage and Reich. In addition, repetition seems to loose its purpose when used in minimalist music. For the older conventional forms, repetition is important because it is one of the things that, for me, connects music to the sound of speech. In minimalist music, repetition can just seem monotonous.