Philip Glass and the Yellow Cab

A struggling composer drove a yellow taxi through New York City streets, hearing symphonies in the ordinary sounds around him. Philip Glass would transform those rhythmic patterns into a revolutionary new style of music called minimalism.

Duration: 24 minutes | Composer: Philip Glass

What You'll Learn

  • Understand what 'minimalism' means in music — using just a few notes and simple patterns, like building a huge sand castle with only three shapes of buckets
  • Learn about the 'additive process' — how adding just ONE note at a time, so slowly you barely notice, can completely transform music, like watching a tower of blocks slowly change color
  • Discover that Philip Glass drove taxis and fixed plumbing while becoming a famous composer — because following your creative dream sometimes means doing other jobs to pay the bills
  • Experience how repetition isn't boring — it's hypnotic, like ocean waves, and it changes how time feels when you listen
  • Learn that Glass traveled to India and studied music there, showing how great artists learn from cultures all around the world

Music Featured

Composer Title Source
Philip Glass Metamorphosis I archive.org
Philip Glass 01. Opening archive.org
Philip Glass The Poet Acts archive.org
Philip Glass Metamorphosis II archive.org
Philip Glass 03. Island archive.org
Philip Glass 02. Floe archive.org
Philip Glass Vessels archive.org
Philip Glass The Grid archive.org
Philip Glass 05. Façades archive.org
Philip Glass Prophecies archive.org
Philip Glass The Hours archive.org
Philip Glass Cloudscape archive.org