Learning to Appreciate Steve Reich
by nancytrinh
I have just managed to listen to Steve Reich’s “It’s Gonna Rain, Part I” in its entirety a few hours prior to writing this post. The first time I heard the piece (2 weeks ago, on Canvas) I was taken aback because it was quite unlike anything I had heard before. I could not handle it for more than a minute and a half. I tried listening to it again several times after that, but was always either interrupted by events, texts, or calls, or I found that I just did not have the mental strength to give the piece my full attention. However, I found that with each successive attempt, my appreciation of the piece increased. I was also reminded of Family Guy’s Ollie Williams’ proclaiming “It’s gonna rain!” on television, and the association made me like it even more.
Learning to appreciate Steve Reich’s piece has led me to understand how intellectually demanding some music can be. After listening to “It’s Gonna Rain,” I have tried my ear at his other pieces, namely “Music for 18 Musicians,” and “Double Sextet,” and am becoming quite a fan of his work. It is exciting to think of the music remaining to be discovered and enjoyed in the rest of this class.
The Thousand-Year Ears 
I felt the same way about “It’s Gonna Rain” until I realized the whole point of the song was not the words themselves, but rather the tempo and rhythm of their repetition. The same three words are repeated ad nauseum, but an entirely different piece can be recognized if you were to write (or draw out) how the sequential repetition moves along.
I had the same initial reaction to “It’s Gonna Rain” and also didn’t listen to the song in its entirety until the other day. I felt I got the gist of it just by hearing the first part of it and didn’t really want to listen to the rest because it was kind of hard to listen to. But, after being forced to listen to it fully in preparation for the listening quiz, I found it was much more bearable because I was really assessing the different musical and experimental elements.
I do think that Steve Reich’s “It’s Gonna Rain” makes an important statement with regards to musical rhythm and experimental construction, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to view it as anything but chopped noise. I am not a particular fan of Gregorian chant, but I feel confident enough to say that I can at least listen through to the end of Puer natus est nobis or In Paradisum. On the other hand, in my 5 attempts at listening to “It’s Gonna Rain”, each and everytime I had to fast forward to the next piece. For me, I just don’t think my ears are musically intelligent enough to appreciate this piece.
I remember thinking something must have been wrong with my computer the first time I played “It’s Gonna Rain.” I thought my speakers were jammed or something.
This kind of music makes me think about how wide the spectrum of music is. It also makes me wonder where the line is drawn for what constitutes music vs. just a bunch of sounds that don’t blend or interact with each other in a meaningful way? Is classifying “music” as “music” a subjective thing, or a universal thing? And how did this come to be?
I think I’ll give “It’s Gonna Rain” another go. It’s cool to see that things like this have evolved into products of art in our day and age. It makes me wonder what more is to come from the world of music in the years to come.
I had a similar experience with listening to “It’s Gonna Rain”. When I first heard the piece, I thought that there was a technical issue with the track because it sounded like a broken record, involving more repetition of sound than any other piece I have heard before. After listening to this piece several times, I have been able to better appreciate its unique characteristics. However,although I have developed a sense of appreciation and understanding, I would not casually listen to this piece for my own entertainment. “It’s Gonna Rain” is probably my least favorite piece so far in this course because I have been able to develop stronger emotional connections to the other pieces we have heard.
I initially listened to the piece in its entirety when it was assigned a few weeks ago, mainly because I was curious if something else besides repetition would occur. I was wrong, but the more I listened to it, the more distorted the words became. Even though I was hearing the same set of works over and over, the manipulation or looping of the voice recordings created an entire musical piece with 3 words. I think “It’s Gonna Rain” is one of those pieces I would have never have heard about or would even consider to listen to if it weren’t for this course, so I’m glad I got the chance to broaden my musical listening!
The first time I listened to this piece I had the feeling that something new was going to happen the entire time. I kept waiting for something to change and I think this kept me from thinking about the intentional use of repetition and rhythm. When I went back again, I found that I had a totally different mindset from the start. I was not anticipating anything to happen and the background knowledge I had allowed me to appreciate it a lot more. This piece is unlike anything I have heard before and it was interesting for me to see that it made a difference to listen to it a second time.
As many of the other students have pointed out, it seems that many of us had trouble listening to “It’s Gonna Rain” and appreciating it for the musical qualities it does have. Listening to the repetition of three single words at a fast tempo can be jarring. To be quite honest, I found it tough to give the piece my full attention. The first time I played it on Canvas when it was assigned, I turned it off after the first minute or so, assuming that I had gotten the full “gist.” While listening, I kept waiting for it to change or for a new theme to be introduced. However, taking a step back now, it is clear that the beauty of the piece exists in the repetition and startling nature of the piece itself. While it may not be enjoyable by what we consider to be our “technical” standards, it is important to remember musical beauty and grace comes in more than one form.
Couldn’t agree more! I literally cringed the fist time I tried to listen to “It’s Gonna Rain.” Once the idea behind the rhythms was pointed out in class though, I could appreciate it more. It reminds me of the word-painting techniques we learned about. I think that definitely proves a major point of this class – we need to learn how to listen in particular ways in order to better appreciate music. I didn’t really understand what that meant at first, but now I do. My opinion about this piece changed once I knew how to listen to it.
I actually have never heard of any thing like “It’s Gonna Rain”. For the first ten seconds, I was thinking, “Hm.. interesting” while thinking of the techniques that we learned in class about this particular piece. However, it went down hill from there. The repeat of the same words at the same tempo still isn’t really my type of music.
I agree that it takes quite some time to really appreciate this work. When we first heard it I thought it was the composer’s idea of a joke or somehow a criticism of the music industry or something else. However, once you hear it a few times you start to find some kind of order in all those chaotic noises, which is kind of interesting. I can’t say that I really like the piece, but at least I can appreciate its value.
I also had a lot of trouble listening to “It’s Gonna Rain” when I first heard it, but after our class discussion several weeks ago I realized that this song teaches us an interesting lesson. It teaches us that there is more than one way to listen to and to interpret music. Because the words of the song are so manipulated, I lost a sense of what the words were actually saying/meaning and I was able to concentrate more on the sounds that they were making. Also I was able sense a feeling of disorder and turmoil through the words’ quick and jumbled repetition, which surprised me because I was not actually able to understand a lot of the words being said. In the end, while I may not ever listen to this type of song again, I appreciate the lesson it taught me about music.
When I first heard “It’s Gonna Rain,” it reminded me of a technique commonly used in Southern rap called “screwed and chopped.” I’m not quite sure what producers do to achieve this sound. Screwed refers to the reduction in tempo of the song. A song that is screwed sounds considerably lower than the original . A “chopped” song is very fragmented sounding, as though the recording is constantly being stopped and started. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sound produced in “It’s Gonna Rain” and in “screwed and chopped” songs have similar origins.
As I read through the comments to this post and try to remember my first impression towards the piece, I can’t help but wonder which kind of audience Steve Reich was intending to target with “It’s Gonna Rain.” It was experimental, for sure. But was he trying to please the ears of a select few within the mass public? Was he trying to teach us that there is more into music than what we imagine? Or was he just playing with several musical techniques, never anticipating the general impact of his musical piece? Most of the times, including this one, I always find myself asking, “What is he/she trying to deliver through his/her music?”
As cryptic as this musical piece is, I’m willing to explore Steve Reich’s musical style further, so that I can come up with a definitive answer.
I must be honest, it was very difficult for me to get through all of “It’s Gonna Rain” by Reich. While, i understand the repetition was for the purpose of demonstrating a rhythm and tempo, the piece was utterly unenjoyable. I love the intellectual study of music, but often I don’t see it necessary to forgo a message through enjoyable music, or beautiful and meaningful words.
I had the same opinion of “It’s Gonna Rain” when I first listened to it on Canvas awhile back. Unfortunately, I still have the same opinion of it. I find it unbearable to listen to for more than a minute or two. I seem to not be able to come to grips with this song being a song. Although it may demonstrate rhythm and tempo, I view this song in the same cynical perspective as I do when I see “paintings” that have nothing more than smears and jots of paint on a canvas. The painter proclaims it as “art” but I do not see it that way. Same with this piece. I do not think it is music.