Library.thinkquest.org defines minimalism as creating art using the minimal amount of ideas and materials. In visual art, this may mean creating a painting with few different types of shapes or a very limited color palette. In music, this means a composer writing minimalist music will write pieces with few melodic and rhythmic patterns and much repetition. The focus of minimalist music is beauty through simplicity, so minimalist works often have limited harmonic movement, or few different chords. Minimalism can often extend into the instrumentation of a piece of music, requiring only a few instruments to be played rather than a large orchestra.
In vocal music, the drone is one of the most important aspects of minimalism. According to Classicalworks.com, a drone is a bass note held under a melody. In minimalist vocal music, the drone serves as the anchor for all the other singers to perform melodies over. This drone is often steady and changes little throughout an entire piece. Drones are also performed mostly by bass singers, with the higher-pitched vocals singing more sophisticated melodic parts. Minimalist vocal works are often performed by groups of singers, with several vocalists singing the same melodies or drones to add depth and volume to each part.
According to Newadvent.org, Gregorian chant derives its name from the Catholic Pope Gregory the Great, who lived from 590 to 604. This Pope is responsible for commissioning monks to write sacred music for the church, which became known as Gregorian chant. This music was performed solely by groups of singers and is now considered a precursor to modern minimalist vocal music. What makes this music minimalist is its use of the drone. Gregorian chant relies heavily on vocal drones, and was the first music in Europe to do so.
Other cultures have long used drones and minimalism in vocal music, even before Gregorian chant was developed. Cartage.org states that the music of the Balkans has long used vocal drones in conjunction with wooden flutes as their main instrumentation. One major difference in the minimalist vocal music of other cultures than Europe is rhythm. While Gregorian chant often had steady rhythms and focused more on melody, the vocal music of Africa and Asia often utilizes complex rhythmic patterns that repeat in cycles, making them minimalist in nature.
Today, minimalism has become a popular style with which to compose and experience music. Modern composers such as John Adams and Steve Reich have taken the roots of Gregorian chant and mixed them with the sophisticated rhythms of world music to create distinctly new forms of minimalism. Instead of singing words, modern performers of minimalist music often sing only syllables, using their voices in percussive instrumental roles rather than the traditional lyrical one. According to Syncrat.com, some modern minimalist vocal music is composed by computers that generate repeated melodies and drones for singers to perform.