around the 1960s some composers thought that a lot of music was getting too complicated. music of the avant garde school such as edgard varèse, elliott carter, milton babbitt was becoming too difficult for people to understand. people found it too mathematical and intellectual. they wanted music with feeling and emotion. a group of composers developed a style called minimalism which uses music based around a simple idea which repeats itself again and again but gradually changes. steve reich, philip glass, terry riley, john cage and to some extent john adams all used minimalist techniques. it was a reaction against music that had become too complicated.