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Ten Pieces - 'Short Ride In A Fast Machine'
Would you like a short ride in a fast machine?

Ten Pieces - 'Short Ride In A Fast Machine'

Discover how John Adams creates excitement in “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” using repeating rhythms, building layers, and changing dynamics. Listen carefully and spot what changes as the music develops.

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Fascinating Fact:

The music is built from repeating patterns that get passed around the orchestra. This style links to minimalism and postminimalism.

In KS2 Music, listening to “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” helps you recognise how composers create energy through rhythm, texture, and dynamics. You can track repeated patterns, notice which instruments lead, and describe how the music builds tension and excitement.

Key Terms

  • Dynamics: How loud or quiet the music is, and how that volume changes.
  • Texture: How many musical parts are happening at once, such as a solo line or lots of layers together.
  • Ostinato: A repeated musical pattern that continues through a section of music.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” about?

“Short Ride in a Fast Machine” is an orchestral piece by John Adams that aims to feel fast, exciting, and full of energy. It uses repeating rhythms and layers to create a sense of motion.

What should I listen for in “Short Ride in a Fast Machine”?

Listen for repeating patterns, a steady pulse, and how different instruments take turns with the main ideas. Notice how the music grows louder or thicker as more layers are added.

How do repeating patterns make music exciting?

Repeating patterns can build expectation, like a drumbeat that keeps pushing forward. When the composer adds new layers, changes the volume, or shifts instruments, the repeated pattern feels even more powerful.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .
The piece is known as a 'fanfare': in which case, which family of orchestral instruments would you expect to hear dominating it?
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
Strings
This has obviously moved on since the ceremonial use of trumpets etc. to alert people to the arrival of someone important (e.g. the King in a Shakespeare play). The urgency of the trumpets and others in this Adams piece probably puts you more in mind of a car-chase in a film! (Not such a surprise once the title has planted such ideas in your head.) He came up with the piece after having regretted accepting a friend's offer of a ride in a high-performance sports car.
2 .
Which instrument sets the beat from the outset?
Side drum
Tambourine
Wood-block
Xylophone
It is among the 'tightest' sounds in the percussion section; versions at three different pitches are called for in this piece.
3 .
Which instruments come in very soon in the piece, in a group of 4 and playing very short sharp notes? (They break away from the main rhythm to play 'between' it before very long.)
Horns
Trumpets
Oboes
Bassoons
The sound of the trumpet is classically ear-catching and may be taken powerfully to suggest the idea of car-horns (especially when playing discords!).
4 .
What happens to the type of notes the trumpets play as the end of the piece approaches?
They grow softer, as though they have flown away
They grow quicker with the mounting excitement
They scatter into a wider range of pitches than at the start
They are longer-lasting notes, somehow suggesting a new fresh level of speed compared with the basic beat
The great 'machine' of the piece begins to soar towards the closing seconds. We hope you enjoyed the ride!
5 .
In what year was the piece written and premiered?
1978
1983
1986
1989
It has only been 'out' just under 30 years (at time of writing) but is clearly regarded as a classic.
6 .
Besides a large modern symphony orchestra, what forces are required for a performance of this piece?
Two synthesisers
A pair of harps
A large pipe organ
Tape-recorded sounds
They mix well into the overall sound mostly, but if you follow the score you can try listening out for them. Officially their parts are optional but for a more authentic performance they are usually included.
7 .
What do musicians call the technique by which one part, voice, note or rhythm keeps repeating the same pattern over and over?
Ground Bass
Ostinato
Pedal
Reiteration
... From the Italian term for 'stubborn', or as we'd say, 'obstinate'.
8 .
What is the name of the small machine that musicians use in practice, to set a steady beat? (Maybe you have one at home?)
A beater
A metronome
A metre beater
A clicker-ticker
... invented by Maelzel 200 years ago, in 1815.
9 .
A vibraphone also features amidst all the other sounds. Which family of instruments does it belong to?
Woodwind
Strings
Percussion
Brass
Its distinctive tone quality might be described as starting with the purity of a bell or chime-bar, but with a fairly gentle 'wobble' during the resonance that follows. Its 'home context' might more generally be regarded as in jazz bands or nightclubs.
10 .
For what occasion was this particular (and perhaps, even rather 'overblown') Fanfare originally written?
The opening of a new music school
The launch of a new television 'rolling news' channel
The inauguration of a new US President
The reunification of Germany (and Europe in general) after the fall of the Iron Curtain and Berlin Wall
This was at Great Woods. Imagine the excitement!
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC - KS2: John Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Author:  Ian Miles (Linguist, ESL and RE Quiz Writer & Tutor)
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