Drumming

Completed in 1971 after Reich's study of Ghanaian drumming in Accra, Drumming is the culmination of his early phase-music technique and a landmark work in the Western percussion repertoire. In four linked parts — tuned bongo drums, marimbas, glockenspiels, and a final combination of all three — a single rhythmic pattern is gradually built up note by note through a process of phasing and substitution. Piccolo and female voices join in the later sections, imitating timbres emerging from the instruments. The work typically lasts between 55 and 90 minutes in performance and established the vocabulary for Minimalist music, influencing generations of composers, rock musicians, and electronic artists.