The Sound of Numbers

Clapping Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qS3oc_tK4

Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music” uses a single repeated rhythm pattern.  The two players start by clapping the 12-beat pattern together in unison.  After eight measures, one performer shifts the pattern forward by one beat and they clap the new pattern for eight measures.  This process is continued until the two patterns align again. Here’s a visualization.  Reich says that the piece was inspired by the clapping patterns in traditional flamenco music of the Roma people in Andalusia, Spain.

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2 responses to “Clapping Music”

  1. Chapter 2: Transformation | The Sound of Numbers

    […] the video of Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music.” “Clapping Music” uses a single repeated rhythm pattern. The two players start by […]

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    […] repeat of the first pattern, so you’re clapping ONE-AND-TWO three FOUR FIVE six.) Watch the video of Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music.” One of the players claps the same pattern throughout the piece, while the second player shifts the […]