Electronic music has produced an immense body of work throughout the 20th century. Composers particularly sought to break free of classical-romantic traditions through new technical resources and means of expression; much of this writing could be found between World Wars I and II.
Early experimentation with sound-generating devices (including electronic oscillators that generated sine, square and sawtooth waves), to composers’ use of such equipment as compositional tools.
Definition
Electronic music refers to any piece of music produced or modified using electrical, electromechanical, or electronic means and played back through loudspeakers. As an example, an electric guitar-produced pop song does not make for electronic music per se, though certain processing techniques could render it so. Conversely, Bach fugues played on electronically amplified pipe organs may become electronic when their composer incorporates such processing techniques into the overall musical concept of their compositions.
Since World War I, there has been substantial experimentation with electronic sound-producing devices, particularly between World Wars I and II. Developments included sine, square, and sawtooth wave generators; amplifiers; filter circuits; and the use of electrical recorders instead of mechanical acoustic recorders – giving rise to various forms of contemporary electronic music, from Edgard Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer’s experimental work to synthesizers used for genres like krautrock or new wave music.
Luigi Russolo initiated earlier experiments in producing and recording electronically as early as 1913 when he proposed that all music be destroyed and that new instruments should reflect technological advancement and perform expressive music to express industrialized society. To this end, he constructed several mechanically activated intonarumori (noise instruments) which grated, hissed, scratched and rumbled. These noise instruments, along with Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner’s invention of electrical phonographs independently in 1870-1880s demonstrated that musical sounds could be captured permanently without losing quality during reproductions or reproductions of musical sounds being altered during reproductions without loss in quality or reproductions being lost or degraded over time.
Origins
Electronic music is defined by its use of various electronic instruments or devices to produce a desired sound and texture, creating multiple subgenres such as techno, dance and dubstep music genres. Electronic music has become extremely popular worldwide and often played at dance clubs or underground locations like fitness centers, fields or warehouses.
Electronic music’s origins date back to the turn of the 20th century, when its foundations began taking shape due to various influences and inventions in music technology. Ferruccio Busoni and Hermann von Helmholtz’s seminal works from this period include their “Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music” and “On the Sensations of Tone,” both which expanded compositional possibilities beyond traditional instruments’ limited timbres. Thaddeus Cahill introduced the first electronic musical instrument with his tone-wheel based Telharmonium in 1897. Other electronic music innovations include Hammond organ, Theremin (an electronic device controlled with keyboards or via wire), and Trautonium (an early form of synthesizer).
By the late 1960s, electronic music had begun to blend with other musical genres. For instance, American duo Silver Apples used oscillators and synthesizers in their music to produce a psychedelic sound; this inspired new genres such as electropop and electronic rock. Other pioneers of electronic music include German band Kraftwerk and British musician Brian Eno whose synthesiser-heavy style became known by its nickname of krautrock.
Styles
Digital technology enables electronic musicians to produce an amazing variety of sounds that wouldn’t otherwise be possible with traditional instruments. Drum machines and synthesizers have given rise to numerous music genres; most notable among these being Techno, Dubstep and House which can often be found playing at dance clubs and festivals alike. Electronic musicians’ ability to tap into its potential has led them down this road of popularity which only continues growing today.
Early 20th-century experimentation with electrical reproduction of sound led to electric guitars and pianos that revolutionised how music was composed, as well as to the first practical audio tape recording device introduced during the 1930s that helped foster new styles of composition.
Mid-20th-century musicians introduced an electronic rock style known as Synthpop that featured synthesizer as its primary musical instrument and soon after became immensely popular following disco’s decline. Some notable bands involved included Ultravox with their 1977 single Hiroshima Mon Amour as well as Yellow Magic Orchestra from Japan (YMO), Gary Numan and Depeche Mode to name just a few.
More recently, an emerging subgenre of electronic music called Minimal House or Micro House has emerged that draws heavily upon House and Techno. Known by its initialism of pulsing cushiony kick-drum thump with faint synthetic string textures and dreamy keyboard tones. BPM typically ranges between 115-13O BPM. Hard Trance also emerged out of these principles, featuring hard (sometimes down-pitch) kick drum thump with fully resonant bass sounds processed via digital synthesizers – similar to Minimal House or Micro House but much harder with fully resonant bass sounds produced through digital synthesizers.
Techniques
As the old sound engineer saying goes: “sh*t in, sh*t out.” If you begin by selecting low quality audio samples, time and energy may be wasted attempting to fix the track instead of perfecting it from its inception.
Once you’ve identified your sound, the next steps in production include mixing and mastering. Although these stages were once seen as separate from music creation, their importance has become ever more critical when creating finished products. Doing this right will allow you to create better music more quickly while giving it a professional vibe.
As computer technology has advanced, so too have methods for creating and performing electronic music. Early composers relied on electromechanical devices to generate sounds with distinct waveforms – this eventually gave way to modern modular synthesizer composition techniques.
Additionally, electronic music has also played an instrumental role in shaping new genres. The 1960s witnessed the birth of popular electronic music when bands such as Silver Apples or Brian Eno began incorporating oscillators and other sound generators into their music; this eventually gave rise to genres such as krautrock and electronica.
These developments have also spurred on a new generation of musicians who incorporate various electronic music techniques into their live performances, resulting in distinct styles such as laptop performance (laptronica), live coding and Algorave performances utilizing electronic and acoustic instruments; allowing musicians to experiment without spending thousands.