Music Homework Benjamin

Steve Reich was born in 1936. His compositions are

influenced by non-Western traditions. He studied
African drumming, with its complex counterpoint, and
Balinese gamelan music, with its complex layering and
fast interlocking patterns. His well-known pieces
include Clapping Music, Different Trains and Music for
Pieces of Wood.
Electric Counterpoint was composed in 1987. It was
commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for
the jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Counterpoint refers to
a texture where two or more melodic lines are
combined. It is scored for solo guitar (acoustic or
electric), 12 guitars and two bass guitars. The soloist
plays live against a pre-recorded backing.
Alternatively it can be performed completely live by
the whole ensemble of 15 players
Electric Counterpoint is in three movements, fastslow-fast.