Some Study Questions
MI-3150
Introduction to Electroacoustic Music
Unit I
Reading: Chapters I and II
Suggested listening in the library: Schoenberg - Opus 16 mvt. III "Farben"; Varese - Ionization; Cage - Sonata and Interludes for Prepared piano and Cartridge Music
1. Several antecedents can be proposed for the rise of electroacoustic music forms during the 20th Century. These include the search for new sonic resources by composers, such as Cage (prepared piano, "found sounds", "small sounds" and percussion groups) and Varese (percussion ensemble and musique concrete); the breakdown of the tonal-harmonic system and the development of serialism; industrialization and technological innovation and new aesthetic forms appearing in the other arts coming to the fore. Using the text, Electric Sound, and notes from lecture one, discuss this concept and provide detailed insights.
2. The term electroacoustic music is defined together with electronic music, musique concrete and computer music elsewhere on these pages and in various links provided for your exploration on the web. Be able to define these terms and speak/write intelligently about the concepts behind them.
3. The CDROM 120 Years of Electronic Music presents a historiographic compendium of information pertaining to the development of electronic music tools, instruments and technologies. When does the chronology begin and when does it end? What factors do you suppose influence the fact that recent developments are not represented?
4. Russolo, not a musician but an artist, proposed a radical departure for music in his manifesto "Art of Noise". What is the basic thrust of his philosophical position? What ramifications has the Futurist Movement had on subsequent developments in electronic music?
5. The first electronic instrument of import was the Telharmonium. Discuss its features, history and impact on the field of electronic music. Use materials presented during lecture together with your text and CDROM information. Try to discover more by search the WWW for additional information.
6. Cage's Cartridge Music presents a radical new aesthetic. Discuss the concept behind the work and the aural result. What kinds of changes need to take place in the listener in order to enter-into the sound-world this music presents?
7. Chadabe, in the introduction to his text, suggests that Electronic Music holds, perhaps, the greatest promise for the future of music. Discuss his position adding comments of your own to support your critique of his concept.
8. Varese called musical composition an art-science. Why is this an apt description when considering electronic music composition?
Unit II
Reading: Chapters III and IV
1. The Theremin presented a totally new set of challenges to musicians in 1917. Among them were a new performance interface, a new sound potential of microtones and continuous glissandi and significant technical challenges. Discuss.
2. Many argue that the introduction of the Theremin marked the beginning of the development of electronic music. Discuss.
3. Why is it that in 1999 there is a greater interest in the Theremin than ever before? Consider that the sounds created via computer synthesis, for example, are much richer and more beautiful than those of the Theremin. What is the attraction of this instrument to the contemporary musician?
4. The Trautonium and its modern incarnation the Mixtur Trautonium is a complex instrument capable of considerably greater nuance than the Theremin. How is it played? What kinds of technological innovations were present in its design?
5. One might say that the Trautonium is the first example of a modern synthesizer, yet introduced in the 1930's. Why?
6. In lecture, I proposed three timelines for three main thrusts of electroacoustic music in the 20th Century. What are the these three general areas of exploration? Furthermore, the timelines overlap at crucial junctures such as 1917, 1950, 1959, 1963 and 1980. Why?
7. Who has been the biggest proponent of the Theremin since the death of Leon Theremin?
8. In what ways are the Theremin and Trautonium similar kinds of innovations in electronic music?
Unit III
Reading: Chapter V
1. Musique Concrete is the first "school" of electroacoustic music. Where did it originate? Who began it? What is the technological innovation that gave rise to it?
2. Making "tape music" is based on the use of the recording studio as a compositional tool. Discuss.
3. Prior to working with magnetic tape, composers made experiments in sound manipulation and collage using phonograph records. Discuss this technique and provide an insight into the limitations this technique presented the serious composer.
4. What trends and techniques in art are analogous to musique concrete techniques?
UNIT IV
Reading: Chapter VI
1. What are the main differences between the Paris RTF studio, the Cologne Studio of the WDR and the Milan Studio? What styles of composition flourished at each.
2. What are the different perspectives offered on electronic music composition by Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer and Berio?
3. By comparison to the early musique concrete works, Stockhausen's Gesang can be considered a very rational work. Explain.
4. The sonic result of Stockhausen's method in Gesang sounds, in various passages, not unlike the results of Cage's work with the tape medium of about the same time period. What are the differences in method for each composer? What explain the similar sounding complexes evidenced in each of their works.
5. Michel Chion delivered a paper in 1989 concerning a return to the term musique concrete and a "purified" approach to the creation of sonic art with "fixed sounds". What was his rationale. In his address what factors does he promote as being central to the art of musique concrete? What factors in the creation of this music are, to his mind, less important?
6. Discuss the methods and techniques used for the creation of Berio's Thema (Ommagio a Joyce)? What kind of electronic music is this? What were the main innovations for the composer in creating it? In your text, Berio describes how he made the work and suggests how he would do it today, discuss.