In the compositional technique phasing popularized by composer Steve Reich the same part (a repetitive phrase) is played on two musical instrument , in steady but not identical tempo Thus, the two instruments gradually shift out of unison, creating first a slight echo as one instrument plays a little behind the other, then a doubling with each note heard twice, then a complex ringing effect, and eventually coming back through doubling and echo into unison. Phasing is the rhythmic equivalent of cycling through the phase of two waveforms as in Phase (waves)#Phase_shift Note that the tempi of the two instruments are almost identical, so that both parts are perceived as being in the same tempo: the changes only separate the parts gradually. In some cases, especially live performance where gradual separation is extremely difficult, phasing is accomplished by periodically inserting an extra note into the phrase of one of the two players playing the same repeated phrase, thus shifting the phase by a single beat at a time, rather than gradually. The technique originated in Reichs tape music where the composer sets off several copies of the same tape loop simultaneously on different machines. Over time, the slight differences in the speed of the different tape machines causes a flanging effect and then rhythmic separation to occur. Examples include Reichs [[Come Out (Reich)|Come Out]]and [[Its Gonna Rain]]. This technique was then extended to acoustic instruments as described in the above paragraph and later the change in phase was made immediate, rather than gradual, as in Reichs Clapping Music As the cycle unfolds, often other melodies will be created by the differing instances of the original phrase being played together. As in Steve Reichs Violin Phase the composer will sometimes have an additional instrument or live performer with the tape who playing these secondary, extracted melodies to accentuate them. Music writer Kyle Gann has pointed out on later use of phase shifting technique: "Though not widely used in minimalist works per se, it survived as an important archetype in postminimal music (e.g. William Duckworth s Time Curve Preludes John Luther Adams s Dream in White on White Kyle Gann s Time Does Not Exist." http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id31tp01 Minimal Music, Maximal Impact by Kyle Gann] Petri Kuljuntausta s Violin Tone Orchestra Wordsand When I Am Laid In Earthare all phasing works and composed with the help of digital sampler, or computer, and multitrack technology. His electronic multichannel music for video installation Eight Roomsis based on spatial phasing, where the phase shifted sounds surrounds the listeners and moves around them. Kuljuntaustas phase shifting method is based on Nano Tuning of sounds. In Nano Tuning the relation of sounds is delicate. The difference of few cents in tuning separates the sounds from each other, which is beyond the pitch-based fine tuning systems of Micro Tuning An example of phasing in popular music is "The True Wheel" on Brian Eno s album [[Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)]] The playing of different repeated phrases in the same tempo but having different metrical lengths (beats in the bar), as in the music of Philip Glass and others, is not phasing but may be considered polymeter . The effect is similar to that heard when a Shortwave station undergoes fading. As the signal takes multiple paths through the ionosphere, the different time delays cause the signal to exhibit the characteristic phasing sound. Category:Musical techniques da:Phasing (musik) de:Phasing fr:Phasing pt:Phasing