Since the inception of electroacoustic music in 1948, much has been written about technical developments. This book is one of the first to examine aesthetic issues central to this rapidly developing genre. It brings together composers from leading academic departments and studios in Britain, the United States, Canada and Paris with a wide range of approaches and opinions, resulting in a study which is likely to have a marked impact on current debates on the future of electroacoustic music. The book is divided into three sections. The first, Culture and Language, considers the relationship between music and the listener's perception and expectation. Materials and Lanugage looks at the types of materials available to composers and the way in which the internal structure of the sound can have implications for the overall structure of a piece. The final section, The Influence of New Technology, considers the relationship between computer systems and the music they are helping to create.

A state-of-the-art overview of the analysis of electroacoustic music, which includes discussions of a wide range of works.

Containing extensive artwork serving as demonstration, as well as downloadable resources with sound and video clips, this collection of essays on electroacoustic music explores the creative possibilities to be found in various forms of musical analysis. Taking pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre as the four basic elements of music, the authors discuss electroacoustic works and examine: * the applications of neumes * contemporary staff notation * sound orchestra and score files * time-domain representations * spectrograms. Taking into consideration both the positive aspects (preservation of the abstract) and negative aspects (creative limitation) of these analytical methods, the authors have created a useful resource for students of electroacoustic music.

This book surveys the history, basic technology, and analysis of electro-acoustic music, along with interviews with important composers in the field.

Electroacoustic music, a flourishing medium for over half a century, remains today, in a wide array of technological forms, one of the major areas of creative activity in music. However, it has long been overlooked in theoretical studies—possibly in part because it does away with traditional scores and notation. In this landmark collection, a group of distinguished composers and theorists who have actively worked in the field present detailed analyses of important electroacoustic works while also demonstrating some recent approaches to the analysis of the music of this medium. Included here are discussions of such significant works as Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge (1955/56), Iannis Xenakis' Diamorphoses (1957), and Jean-Claude Risset's Contours (1982). Overall, the collection aims to elucidate the sonic design of each of the electroacoustic music works under investigation, using its best examples as a lens through which to examine an unduly neglected genre. Demonstrating recent techniques in the analysis of electroacoustic music, the volume also considers various compositional approaches as well as computer applications that have become an irreplaceable tool in the composing of this music. So little has been written about this 20th-century art form that Electroacoustic Music: Analytical Perspectives is at once a fresh, bold step forward in musicology and analysis.

Written by an active composer, performer and educator, Sonic Art: An Introduction to Electroacoustic Music Composition provides a clear and informative introduction to the compositional techniques behind electroacoustic music. It brings together theory, aesthetics, context and practical applications to allow students to start thinking about sound creatively, and gives them the tools to compose meaningful sonic art works. In addition to explaining the techniques and philosophies of sonic art, the book examines over forty composers and their works, introducing the history and context of notable pieces, and includes chapters on how to present compositions professionally, in performance and online. The book is supported by an online software toolkit which enables readers to start creating their own compositions. Encouraging a ‘hands on’ approach to working with sound, Sonic Art is the perfect introduction for anyone interested in electroacoustic music and crafting art from sounds.

This accessible Introduction explores both mainstream and experimental electronic music and includes many suggestions for further reading and listening.

This book illuminates the development of electronic and computer music in East Asia, presented by authors from these countries and territories (China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan). The scholars bring forward the cultural complexities and conflicts involved in their diverse encounters with new music technology and modern aesthetics. How electronic music attracted the interest of composers from East Asia is quite varied – while composers and artists in Japan delved into new sounds and music techniques and fostered electronic music quite early on; political, sociological, and artistic conditions pre-empted the adoption of electronic music techniques in China until the last two decades of the twentieth century. Korean and Taiwanese perspectives contribute to this rare opportunity to re-examine, under a radically different set of cultural preconditions, the sweeping musical transformation that similarly consumed the West. Special light is shed on prominent composers, such as Sukhi Kang, Toshiro Mayuzumi, Toru Takemitsu, and Xiaofu Zhang. Recent trends and new directions which are observed in these countries are also addressed, and the volume shows how the modern fusion of music and technology is triangulated by a depth of culture and other social forces. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Music Review.

Electroacoustic music is now in the mainstream of music, pervading all styles from the avant-garde to pop. Even classical works are routinely scored on a computer and a synthesized demo is a powerful tool for previewing a piece. The fundamental skills of electroacoustic composition are now as essential to a music student as ear training and counterpoint. The Art and Technique of Electroacoustic Music provides a detailed approach those fundamental skills. In this book Peter Elsea explores the topic from the fundamentals of acoustics through the basics of recording, composition with the tools of music concreté, and music production with MIDI instruments, softsynths and digital audio Workstations. Later sections of the book cover synthesis in depth and introduce high powered computer composition languages including Csound, ChucK, and Max/MSP. A final section presents the challenges and techniques of live performance. This book can be used as a text for undergraduate courses and also as a guide for self-learning.

Containing extensive artwork serving as demonstration, as well as downloadable resources with sound and video clips, this collection of essays on electroacoustic music explores the creative possibilities to be found in various forms of musical analysis. Taking pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre as the four basic elements of music, the authors discuss electroacoustic works and examine: * the applications of neumes * contemporary staff notation * sound orchestra and score files * time-domain representations * spectrograms. Taking into consideration both the positive aspects (preservation of the abstract) and negative aspects (creative limitation) of these analytical methods, the authors have created a useful resource for students of electroacoustic music.