Electroacoustic music

buck65

Just new to this concept of music, I actually heard the term on Nova and have ordered some albums on Amazon. To me it is really exciting and I would like to explore it more but what the hell is it about? where did it come from ? who are the main exponents and what are the essential releases. I looked it up on Wikipedia and tbh I was more confused than ever.

Confused
Ennis

John

If you can wait until tonight (or tomorrow depending on how tired I am), I hope I can give a decent starter list/description. Just a bit busy at the present moment!

buck65

will do John Thanks

John

I forgot but will do it tonight. Unless I forget again!

Undergod

I just started lectures about electroacoustic music in college, it's pretty fascinating.

John

Maybe you're in a better position to give a good description of it (particularly as I've no academic music background).

Undergod

Hmm, I stress started taking lectures, and a lot of my knowledge would just be what I've read on wikipedia and Grove, but I'll have a whack at it, and you could add anything you feel I've left out?

Electroacoustic music is, at the most basic level, any kind of music where electronics or technology is used to alter the sound. It started around the early fifties, when various composers and groups of composers, independently of each other, began experimenting with technology in their music. "Musique Concrete" was the term used by two French composers, their names escape me at the moment but it shouldn't be too hard to find, who recorded sounds onto magnetic tape and then altered the tape by cutting, reversing and splicing it. The edited tape would often be rerecorded onto a new tape and this would be the final form of the music.

Some German composers in Cologne worked on "elektronische Musik". They took a different approach, and used artificial means of generating sound. I don't know much more about these guys.

Stockhausen, who is one of the big names in electronic music, brought in the idea of using space as a tool in music; different effects could be acheived by using multi-track recording and placing loudspeakers in different positions relative to the audience in the performance area.

Tbh, I find that serious electroacoustic music blurs the lines between genres more than anything else: there's stuff by guys like Aphex Twin, or noise artists like Merzbow, that could be by modern composers, and vice versa (interestingly, the DJ Venetian Snares has written some wonderful stuff for string quartet).

As for important works, on the more classical side I'd say Kontakte by Stockhausen, Concret PH by Xenakis, Artikulation by Ligeti.

I know there's plenty I'm leaving out. What would you add/modify here, John?

John

I think you've got it bang on. A+

I always think of the term "electroacoustic" as the academic side of "electronica", i.e. it has electronics in it therefore we need a name that has electro- in it!

Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Henry and Luc Ferrari are the musique concrete lads. Schaeffer set it up and the others were key players. Recommended listening for early musique concrete would be Cing Etudes de Bruits by Schaeffer.

FlipperThePriest

Check out John Cage, some great stuff. Where are you studying? I studied it for a yr myself, wrote papers and compositions and all sorts, it's a great experience, will you be composing?

cornbb

I find it really hard to pin down electroacoustic music. Its a sort of "you know it when you hear it" thing. The distinctions between "musique concrete" and "elektronische musik" are much more well-defined and recognisable. But I'm not sure if they are actually sub-branches of electroacoustic? I was under the impression that electroacoustic music was another specific genre of electronic music, but maybe I'm wrong and its more of a blanket term...

On a related note, I heard IMAGO by Trevor Wishart in concert last week and it was fantastic.

Undergod

zippy84 wrote: »

Check out John Cage, some great stuff. Where are you studying? I studied it for a yr myself, wrote papers and compositions and all sorts, it's a great experience, will you be composing?

Studying in the RIAM, BA in Composition. So I hopefully will be composing yeah

FlipperThePriest

cornbb wrote: »

I find it really hard to pin down electroacoustic music. Its a sort of "you know it when you hear it" thing. The distinctions between "musique concrete" and "elektronische musik" are much more well-defined and recognisable. But I'm not sure if they are actually sub-branches of electroacoustic? I was under the impression that electroacoustic music was another specific genre of electronic music, but maybe I'm wrong and its more of a blanket term...

It's not really a sub-genre of electronic they're two different genres. In my experience, with electronic; rhythm and tone are very much defined, but with electroacoustic they're less of an issue and often totally arrhythmical and atonal. This debate has caused mad controversy and splits among different communities, everyone has their own rules and ideas it's a laugh. :pac:

Years ago concrete and elektronische musik were perceived as total opposites due to Schaeffer and Stockhausen's refusal to acknowledge the other's beliefs. But as technology radically improved and new schools started to adapt both concepts Schaeffer admitted how fed up he was splicing hours of tape and how technology was taking over and realising that the two concepts were inevitably converging; he retired. Nowadays there isn't as much if at all a destinction between the two.

Undergod wrote: »

Studying in the RIAM, BA in Composition. So I hopefully will be composing yeah

Nice one! best buy yourself a nice portable recorder and start getting some interesting samples, it's really enjoyable. I use a Zoom h2 http://www.thomann.de/ie/zoom_h2.htm ..great little jobbie, very versatile.

Undergod

zippy84 wrote: »

Nice one! best buy yourself a nice portable recorder and start getting some interesting samples, it's really enjoyable. I use a Zoom h2 http://www.thomann.de/ie/zoom_h2.htm ..great little jobbie, very versatile.

Nice, I may start doing that alright. I kept hearing things in my house and wishing I could sample them.

FlipperThePriest

Undergod wrote: »

Nice, I may start doing that alright. I kept hearing things in my house and wishing I could sample them.

lol thats when you know your gonna enjoy it. You'll start hearing stuff in your environment you didn't even know were there! People will think you've gone mad!