Section 4: 1+1 for One Player and Amplified Table-Top

Section 4: 1+1 for One Player and Amplified Table-Top

Minimalism (Music); Experimental music; Percussion music; Additive rhythm; Contemporary classical music; Musical notation; Performance art; Table percussion; Amplification; Process music; Repetitive structures

A musical score for solo performer using an amplified tabletop as the sole instrument, composed in 1968 and representing a pivotal work in Philip Glass's early minimalist period. The composition employs Glass's signature additive process, derived from his study of Indian classical music with Ravi Shankar, wherein rhythmic patterns are systematically expanded and contracted by adding or subtracting individual beats. The performer executes the piece by tapping the amplified table surface with fingers or knuckles, creating rhythmic patterns built from just two basic units that can be combined at the performer's discretion. This radical reduction of musical elements to pure rhythm, stripped of pitch and melody, exemplifies minimalist principles and marked a turning point in Glass's compositional approach. The work's extreme economy of means initially led the U.S. Copyright Office to question whether it constituted music or merely a theoretical model. The score presents a systematic exploration of rhythmic possibilities through mathematical permutation, demonstrating how complex musical structures can emerge from the simplest materials.

Glass, Philip, 1937-

Composed November 1968; First published in Aspen Magazine No. 8; Subsequently published by Dunvagen Music Publishers

Roaring Fork Pres (New York, N.Y.)

Fall-Winter 1970-1971

Graham, Dan, 1942-2022 (Editor); Maciunas, George, 1931-1978 (Designer); Johnson, Phyllis, 1926-2001 (Publisher)

Is part of Aspen Magazine No. 8 (Fall-Winter 1970-1971); Preceded by Strung Out (1967), Gradus (1968), Music in the Shape of a Square (1968), How Now (1968); Followed by Two Pages (1969); Related to Glass's early minimalist works 1967-1969; Part of Philip Glass's exploration of additive/subtractive processes; Connected to Philip Glass Ensemble performances (founded 1968)

Printed musical score; Notated instructions for percussion performance; Requires amplification equipment

English (instructions); Universal music notation

Musical score; Performance score; Artist's multiple; Minimalist composition; Experimental music notation

Temporal: 1965-1971 Spatial: New York, N.Y. Aspen, CO.