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Listening Report of Steve Reich’s “Pendulum Music”

 

Patryk Merci

The Future of American Music

Matriculation number: 7613841

Dr. Herzogenrath

WS 22/23

Listening Report 5

 

Listening Report of Steve Reich’s “Pendulum Music”

 

What is specifically interesting about Reich’s “Pendulum Music” is that the sounds created by the phenomenon of swinging microphones are very familiar to the listener and almost always resemble a sound of some item or event that is already known. Moreover, it is also worth noting that the output is heavily influenced by physics and the pace in which the microphones move.

 

            The beginning of the piece is immediate and does not leave a lot of room for the buildup of any anticipation, with the first sounds resembling heavy drums combined with a chirping of a bird. Both of those sounds fit together perfectly and provide an exotic atmosphere which reminds of wilderness and danger. Similar sounds to those were also used in the latest marvel movie, Wakanda Forever. Those particular sounds are supposed to give the listener a feeling of tribal rituals and reveal some parts of the African culture. Nevertheless, the combination is not really consistent as the piece continues, because eventually the drums and the chirping sounds get desynchronized, with chirping coming a few moments later than the drums, which occurs because of physics and the way the hanging microphones start to move slower. This effect completely changes both the pace and the rhythm of the piece. The rhythm is very easily distinguishable, especially further into the piece, as the drums intensify and start sounding as if multiple beats were played in an organized way. However, the chirping sound actively changes into a high screeching or squeaking noise, which makes it very difficult to listen to the piece, because of how intense it is for the ear. The drum sound eventually stops too, leaving place for an electrical trumpet, which also resembles the sound of a malfunctioning device. At this point, the piece no longer offers the original, exotic aura of a wilderness, turning into an annoyance instead. The high screeching now evolves even further, transforming into a rusted swing on a children’s playground. However, the microphones almost come to a stop, and so do the drum and trumpet sounds, which now resemble an electric elephant, so the original touch of wilderness is preserved, even if not as easily distinguishable as before. The piece becomes significantly harder to listen to as the microphones slow down, with the rhythm slowly fading away and the rich variation of sounds disappearing, until the power being finally cut off and the piece ending on a rather bad note caused by the developed disturbance.

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