1. John
Adams
Short Ride in a Fast Machine

2. EXPERIENCE
Listen to John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine
0 – 60 in five seconds! Exhilarating!
Short Ride.ppt
O. K. I’m awake now
I am ready to be launched into space
The title is so perfect – I feel like I’m entering the
Earth’s atmosphere or something
These are all comments from You Tube users who have
listened to and watched the short films inspired by this
piece of music

3. EXPLORE

4. EXPLORE
John Adams (b. 1947) is an American ‘Minimalist’
composer

5. EXPLORE
John Adams (b. 1947) is an American ‘Minimalist’
composer
Minimalism was conceived in America and it relates to
the Minimalist movement in art and architecture from
the same period

6. EXPLORE
John Adams (b. 1947) is an American ‘Minimalist’
composer
Minimalism was conceived in America and it relates to
the Minimalist movement in art and architecture from
the same period
In all things minimalistic, less is definitely more

7. This is an example of
Minimalist art by the
American artist Donald
Judd

8. And this is an
example of Japanese
Minimalist
architecture
This is an example of
Minimalist art by the
American artist Donald
Judd

9. Minimalist music was first described in an American
Arts Journal like this:
The idea of minimalism is much larger than most people realise.
It includes, by definition, any music that works with limited or
minimal materials: pieces that use only a few notes, pieces that
use only a few words of text, or pieces written for very limited
instruments, such as antique cymbals, bicycle wheels, or
whiskey glasses. It includes pieces that sustain one basic
electronic rumble for a long time. It includes pieces made
exclusively from recordings of rivers and streams. It includes
pieces that move in endless circles. It includes pieces that set up
an unmoving wall of saxophone sound. It includes pieces that
take a very long time to move gradually from one kind of music to
another kind. It includes pieces that permit all possible pitches,
as long as they fall between C and D. It includes pieces that slow
the tempo down to two or three notes per minute.

10. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music

11. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music
Repetition, a steady pulse and very simple and stable
harmonies

12. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music
Repetition, a steady pulse and very simple and stable
harmonies
The woodblock provides a constant steady beat of
repeated crochets throughout the entire piece

13. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music
Repetition, a steady pulse and very simple and stable
harmonies
The woodblock provides a constant steady beat of
repeated crochets throughout the entire piece
There are also fairly constant quavers played by various
sections of the orchestra

14. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music
Repetition, a steady pulse and very simple and stable
harmonies
The woodblock provides a constant steady beat of
repeated crochets throughout the entire piece
There are also fairly constant quavers played by various
sections of the orchestra
John Adams himself said that he sees the rest of the
orchestra as running the gauntlet through that rhythmic
tunnel

15. Short Ride in a Fast Machine has all the hallmarks of
Minimalist music
Repetition, a steady pulse and very simple and stable
harmonies
The woodblock provides a constant steady beat of
repeated crochets throughout the entire piece
There are also fairly constant quavers played by various
sections of the orchestra
John Adams himself said that he sees the rest of the
orchestra as running the gauntlet through that rhythmic
tunnel
He also says about the title: ‘You know how it is when
someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and
then you wish you hadn’t?’

16. RESPOND

17. RESPOND
Look up Short Ride in a Fast Machine on You Tube and
you will find at least six videos that have been created
to complement the music.

18. RESPOND
Look up Short Ride in a Fast Machine on You Tube and
you will find at least six videos that have been created
to complement the music.
Watch a few of them and choose the one that you like
the best.

19. RESPOND
Look up Short Ride in a Fast Machine on You Tube and
you will find at least six videos that have been created
to complement the music.
Watch a few of them and choose the one that you like
the best.
Why do you like it? How does it complement the music?

20. EXPERIENCE
Watch the short film where John Poulter, Assistant
Principal Percussion in the RSNO, talks about the role of
the percussion section in the orchestra, particularly in a
piece like Short Ride in a Fast Machine

21. RESPOND

22. RESPOND
Here are the opening four bars to another Minimalist
piece called Glassworks by American Composer Philip
Glass:

23. RESPOND
Here are the opening four bars to another Minimalist
piece called Glassworks by American Composer Philip
Glass:

24. RESPOND
Here are the opening four bars to another Minimalist
piece called Glassworks by American Composer Philip
Glass:
Working in a group, play these bars on your instrument.
What can you do to extend the music? Remember that
repetition is good in this music! How could you change
the intensity? Think about adding different instruments,
dynamics, modulation and adding untuned percussion.