Comments on: Clapping Music

Clapping Music

rongorongo — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:13:48 -0800

Counting in groups of 12 the first performer claps on 1,2,3,5,6,8,10 and 11. The second performer starts by clapping the same pattern but gradually shifts the pattern one step to the right. You are playing Steve Reich's clapping music. If you are serious you will want to study the score - and perhaps a watch a performance). If you are happen to be Evelyn Glennie you can have a go at both parts at once. - those slightly less more mortal are likely to end up like this.

See also previously.

By: East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:17:26 -0800

MetaFilter: making you slightly less more mortal

By: Item

Item — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:23:03 -0800

Man, Reich's video page is disappointingly sparse. Almost minimalist.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:35:39 -0800

About Evelyn Glennie:

She was the first full-time solo professional percussionist in 20th century western society. [...] In a live performance she can use up to approximately 60 instruments. [...] Glennie has been profoundly deaf – meaning that she has some very limited hearing – since age 12.

Her site.

By: ob

ob — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:42:41 -0800

Whilst not wanting to poo-poo things here, I would imagine that the vast majority of percussionists worth their salt could perform both parts simultaneously. It's also not that amazing that when Evelyn Glennie performs she uses up to 60 instruments -that's solo percussion for you (and why solo percussionists have programming issues, there is no standard set-up...) Still this is a nice post, and, yes, performing Clapping Music is a lot of fun.

By: twsf

twsf — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:45:16 -0800

And the movie about her, Touch the Sound, for those of us who want to feel even more despondent about our lack of rhythm and talent....

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:48:05 -0800

Another example of 12 beat clapping would be the song Ollin Arageed (navigate flash player to track 11) from Nubian artist Hamza el Din - previously. You can clap along with this score (pdf) as well.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:54:28 -0800

I'd applaud, but it would seem such an insufficient response at this moment.

By: jimmyjimjim

jimmyjimjim — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:58:49 -0800

Anyone interested in such things should check out flamenco "palmas"...the fast, rhythmic handclaps used in flamenco music. Done in pairs...with one person clapping upbeats and the other clapping downbeats, an amazingly rapid-fire staccato is possible with some practice (and a good deal of cojones). But even solo, there's a lot of great stuff (and you can always cluck your own offbeats with your tongue). The way to learn it is with a real flamenco musician or singer...preferably gitano (Roma/gypsy). I don't believe there's a serious resource on this on the web. But here's a monstrously hot tip: go to the basement of La Candela in Madrid very late at night.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:03:08 -0800

item writes "Man, Reich's video page is disappointingly sparse. Almost minimalist." Funny that you mention that. Reich is considered a minimalist pioneer.

By: LMGM

LMGM — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:09:52 -0800

For some reason, clapping music makes me feel nostalgic for a minimalist renaissance that never happened. That never happened in "concert" music, I suppose. Ample minimalism in techno, especially of the Berliner / Köln variety.

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:41:19 -0800

I would imagine that the vast majority of percussionists worth their salt could perform both parts simultaneously. Not only that, but this sort of layered/elaborated/cycling sound shows up in traditional music (see polyrhythm) and dance.

By: LooseFilter

LooseFilter — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:43:32 -0800

minimalist renaissance that never happened. I don't think musical minimalism has ever needed a renaissance because it's never gone away--as you mention, there is ample minimalism in much electronica (not just techno), but we're seeing a whole generation of post-minimalist composers all over the world, who directly cite it as a seminal influence (off the top of my head, Adams, Torke, Turnage, Gorecki, Part, the Bang on a Can folks). American musical minimalism has become an important, widespread influence, which is ironic considering it was so widely reviled and rejected by the musical establishment for so long--but it appears to be one of the United States' most vibrant and fertile artistic exports of the past 50 years. And Clapping Music is great--also fun for non-percussionists is his Music for Pieces of Wood (which would require four friends).

By: FuegoFan

FuegoFan — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:48:17 -0800

go to the basement of La Candela in Madrid very late at night. La Carbonería in Sevilla is not a bad place either.

By: mincus

mincus — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:59:25 -0800

Is this like the cup game for real musicians?

By: smackfu

smackfu — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:02:30 -0800

Has anyone ever tried doing this against themselves with video-editing? Seems like it would be a fun split-screen thing and... a lot easier for us rhythmically challenged.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:12:01 -0800

Our music teacher tried to make us do complicated rhythms tapping on the desk with each hand... 3 and 4 beats to the bar and 3 and 5, things like that. Evelyn Glennie is great, she used to turn up on UK tv quite a bit. Often for the Young Musician of The Year show. I can never quite believe she is deaf. Clapping Song

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:19:24 -0800

LooseFilter writes "American musical minimalism has become an important, widespread influence, which is ironic considering it was so widely reviled and rejected by the musical establishment for so long--but it appears to be one of the United States' most vibrant and fertile artistic exports of the past 50 years." Yes, techno and its children are minimalist. There is some discussion of that on one of those links ... Of course, The White Stripes are also minimalist, but it's more like stripped down rock arrangements than true minimalist composition.

By: turbodog

turbodog — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:07:37 -0800

I would imagine that the vast majority of percussionists worth their salt could perform both parts simultaneously Don't conductors need to count in different tempos with each hand as well? A friend in college taught me the the 4/4 and 3/4 simultaneously rhythm, but I imagine more complex combos must crop up. Also, my favorite pattern phasing example is King Crimson's Frame by Frame when Fripp & Belew play a 7/8 riff, but one drops a note and plays it in 6/8 until it syncs back up and then plays in unison in 7/8 again.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:00:13 -0800

I would imagine that the vast majority of percussionists worth their salt could perform both parts simultaneously. I would expect any salt-worthy percussionists to be able to carry out play out two patterns at once with absolutely no problem. Being able to play a double pattern which phase shifts like Clapping Music is quite a lot harder IMHO. I once performed this piece and was the guy who drew the long straw - just keeping to the same pattern - even this I found tricky. A test for the reader would be to try tapping our one part with each hand.

By: nobody

nobody — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:14:31 -0800

Doing it as a truly gradual phase shift might be interesting. It looks like the prescribed method is to skip whole counts to create the offset all in one go (which makes sense, as a piece). Also, I think the Glennie performace might have been nicer if what she was hitting with her right-hand mallets weren't so markedly different-sounding from those on her left. In any case, this is neat. Thanks.

By: unknowncommand

unknowncommand — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:33:08 -0800

Those kids are awesome. If only my children would end up so cool.

By: Falconetti

Falconetti — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:53:17 -0800

Funny that you mention that. Reich is considered a minimalist pioneer. I think item understood that.

By: LooseFilter

LooseFilter — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:40:26 -0800

Don't conductors need to count in different tempos with each hand as well? A friend in college taught me the the 4/4 and 3/4 simultaneously rhythm, but I imagine more complex combos must crop up. Actually no--the two-patterns-at-once thing is a training technique for developing independence in hands/arms/etc., as you might need to show different things with different hands (balance adjustments, contrasting styles to different parts of the ensemble, etc.), but I've never seen an instance when a conductor is required to show different tempi at the same time.* (*Now occasionally one might need two conductors to do this, as in Ives' Fourth Symphony.)

By: DU

DU — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:35:59 -0800

Wait a minute! Evelyn is that OTHER deaf woman on Sesame Street! NOW I get why she's always playing drums!

By: ob

ob — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:55:52 -0800

Being able to play a double pattern which phase shifts like Clapping Music is quite a lot harder IMHO Yes indeed, but I still think that most percussionists should be able to do it, as most conductors (at least of contemporary music) should be able to beat 3 and 4 simultaneously, even though, as LooseFilter said, they don't have to do this in practice.