MTTC Music Education (099) Practice Test

Minimalism centers on repeated musical ideas, gradual change, and a steady pulse over extended spans. Composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and John Adams explore these features through processes such as looping, repeating motifs, and small shifts in harmony or rhythm that accumulate over time.

Ludwig van Beethoven, by contrast, belongs to the Classical and early Romantic traditions. His music builds drama and structure through motivic development, dynamic contrasts, and clear formal architecture rather than the sustained repetition and slowly evolving textures that define minimalism. That difference in era and approach is why Beethoven is not typically associated with the minimalist movement.