There aren’t very many really revolutionary pieces of music in this century or any other. Terry Riley’s In C is one of those revolutionary pieces. It’s hard to tell how little structure there is to the music if listening to the piece with little or no background. As the music crescendos and ascends from one raga to another, you can hear how Riley’s minimalist approach allows the musician a freedom to feel the music and become one with it. Its unpredictable nature allows a certain surprise each time the listener hears the piece performed. There are so many possibilities. The Indian influence gives it its minimalistic glory. It invokes feelings a relaxation and freedom in the listener.
The notation provided for the piece serves as merely a suggestion on how it should be performed. 53 melodic patterns are displayed on the one page, with any number of performers playing each pattern consecutively. The real twist here is, that while the piece starts with everyone on the first pattern, it is completely up to the discretion of each individual member on how many times the phrase should be repeated before they move to the next one. This level of interaction provides limitless possibilities in rhythmic variations, dynamics, tempo, and the time taken to perform the piece.
It has been described as an aletoric composition. What’s most impressive about this piece is the balance established between structure and chance. Each melodic pattern follows a logical progression from one another, such as reversing the pervious motif and contrasting patterns. Most notable though is the lack of a definitive time signature, which Riley clearly saw necessary to avoid in order capturing the true essence of the piece, allowing it to grow and change however the players see fit.
I think that this unique form of composition makes this piece on of a kind. It gives a freedom to musicians and