Phase music

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 The Time Curve Preludes, John Luther Adams's Dream in White on White, and Gann's own Time Does Not Exist).

[3]: 37, 48 In discussing the technicalities of what has been termed a "phase shifting process" Reich has stated that it is related to infinite canon or rounds in medieval music.

The difference between phase music and traditional rounds, where two or more identical melodies are played with one starting after the other, is that the melodic phrases are generally short repeating patterns with the imitation being variable instead of fixed.

By using additional tracks and loops with identical source material the possibilities for creating a wider range of phasing relationships increases.

[3]: 49 Composed phase music features two or more instruments playing a repetitive phrase (part) in a steady but not identical tempo.

In the case of gradual phase shifting, initially the tempi of the different instruments will be almost identical, so that both parts are perceived to be sounding in unison and at the same tempo.

Next, a complex ringing effect arises, after which the phrases eventually return, back through doubling, echo, and unison, to an in-phase position.