Microvariation: The Key Link Of The Composition Technique Of Minimalism Music

The main contention of this thesis is Microvariation.Microvariation is a new concept of composition technique which is putting forward by the author after the researching and concluding the composition technique of Minimalism music.The thesis attempted to prove the rationality of the new concept through the discussion of the relationship between the new concept and aesthetic thought of minimalism music and also the practically use of the new concept in many different works of minimalism music.The thesis,besides the preface and the postscript,is made up of four sections: Minimalism music,Microvariation,The use of Microvariation in minimalism music and the Conclusion.In the first section of Minimalism music,about the treatment of minimalism music,the author individually concluded that "minimalism music comes not only from the highly complex abstractive obscure music of the aesthetic area in the first half of 20th century,but, in the aspect of the composition technique,it gradually shapes as the essential elements of manner and method of its community,which based on the aesthetic thought and rooted from the mixture of the western traditional composition technique and the eastern musical elements",and then offered a discussion of the background and the genesis of the aesthetic thought and compositional conception.In the second section Microvariation,it include the content of the differences between the microvariation and the common variation,the relationship between the microvariation and the aesthetic thought of minimalism music,and the definition and types of the microvariation etc.The third section,the use of the microvariation in minimalism music,is the core of the whole thesis.It analyses the use of the microvariation technique in the representative works of the minimalism composer which depends on the clue of the seven types of microvariation, and the examples include the types of literature as solo(Piano Phase),quartet(String quartet),chamber music(City Life) and orchestral(Harmonielehre),and also the form as prepared music(New York Counterpoint),synthesizer(El Dorado) and clave(Music For Piece of Wood).The fourth section called conclusion,and it is the conclusion of the first three sections. In the matter of fact,numerous of microvariational techniques,which we listed the seven types before,did exist in many composers' works of minimalism music.These examples could prove the definition not only of the concept of microvariation itself comes into existence,but also of the key link of the composition technique of the minimalism music. This section,also,offer the discussion about the meanings of the new concept practically uses in the teaching and composing areas.