Electronic Music

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the history of electronic music and how this history can help explain the way music is made today. The paper describes the different types of electronic music, the instruments used to make electronic music, composers of electronic music, the development of the synthesizer, and how computers are used to generate music.

Outline
Changing Instrumentation
Electronic Music
The Development of the Synthesizer
The Music
Computer Music

From the Paper:

"Electronic music has become a staple in popular music, a vital part of experimental and avant-garde music, and an occasional means of performing classical music. Different types of electronic production are also common for music in films, television programs, and commercials. Electronic music has been produced in some form for more than a century, but it has become more common with the creation of the synthesizer and other electronic instruments, and even more common as these and similar devices have been computerized and digitized. The synthesizer can simulate an entire orchestra or just one or two instruments. The adept user can produce a wide variety of sounds, composing in studio or in performance. A single user can thus use this system to produce short or long works, including adding a soundtrack to a silent film at minimal cost and without the need for a studio full of musicians. The synthesizer was produced after decades of experimentation with electronic music as different composers sought ways to express themselves in this manner."

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