Born Georgina
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520202160
- eISBN:
- 9780520916845
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520202160.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, European Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on the technological research projects of the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in the 1984, explaining that, during this time, computer music ...
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This chapter focuses on the technological research projects of the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in the 1984, explaining that, during this time, computer music was expected to enrich the quality of sound materials by its capacity to stimulate any unimaginable sound, as well as completely new timbres. It highlights the pivotal ideological position of psychoacoustics and music research within IRCAM, and the musicians' commitment to define the future areas of research that would be of maximum musical use to composers. The chapter also discusses the structure of opposition in IRCAM's intellectual work culture.Less
This chapter focuses on the technological research projects of the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in the 1984, explaining that, during this time, computer music was expected to enrich the quality of sound materials by its capacity to stimulate any unimaginable sound, as well as completely new timbres. It highlights the pivotal ideological position of psychoacoustics and music research within IRCAM, and the musicians' commitment to define the future areas of research that would be of maximum musical use to composers. The chapter also discusses the structure of opposition in IRCAM's intellectual work culture.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
In this new edition of the classic text on the history and evolution of electronic music, Peter Manning extends the definitive account of the medium from its birth to include key developments from ...
More
In this new edition of the classic text on the history and evolution of electronic music, Peter Manning extends the definitive account of the medium from its birth to include key developments from the dawn of the 21st century to the present day. After explaining the antecedents of electronic music from the turn of the 20th century to the Second World War, Manning discusses the emergence of the early ‘classical’ studios of the 1950s, and the subsequent evolution of more advanced analogue technologies during the 1960s and ‘70s, leading in turn to the birth and development of the MIDI synthesizer. Attention then turns to the characteristics of the digital revolution, from the pioneering work of Max Mathews at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1950s to the wealth of resources available today, facilitated by the development of the personal computer and allied digital technologies. The scope and extent of the technical and creative developments that have taken place since the late 1990s are considered in an extended series of new and updated chapters. These include topics such as the development of the digital audio workstation, laptop music, the Internet, and the emergence of new performance interfaces. Manning offers a critical perspective of the medium in terms of the philosophical and technical features that have shaped its growth. Emphasizing the functional characteristics of emerging technologies and their influence on the creative development of the medium, Manning covers key developments in both commercial and the non-commercial sectors to provide readers with the most comprehensive resource available on the evolution of this ever-expanding area of creativity.Less
In this new edition of the classic text on the history and evolution of electronic music, Peter Manning extends the definitive account of the medium from its birth to include key developments from the dawn of the 21st century to the present day. After explaining the antecedents of electronic music from the turn of the 20th century to the Second World War, Manning discusses the emergence of the early ‘classical’ studios of the 1950s, and the subsequent evolution of more advanced analogue technologies during the 1960s and ‘70s, leading in turn to the birth and development of the MIDI synthesizer. Attention then turns to the characteristics of the digital revolution, from the pioneering work of Max Mathews at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1950s to the wealth of resources available today, facilitated by the development of the personal computer and allied digital technologies. The scope and extent of the technical and creative developments that have taken place since the late 1990s are considered in an extended series of new and updated chapters. These include topics such as the development of the digital audio workstation, laptop music, the Internet, and the emergence of new performance interfaces. Manning offers a critical perspective of the medium in terms of the philosophical and technical features that have shaped its growth. Emphasizing the functional characteristics of emerging technologies and their influence on the creative development of the medium, Manning covers key developments in both commercial and the non-commercial sectors to provide readers with the most comprehensive resource available on the evolution of this ever-expanding area of creativity.
Renée Levine Packer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199730773
- eISBN:
- 9780199863532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730773.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular, History, American
The introduction traces the genesis of the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts as a forum to remedy the growing disparity that existed between what musicians learned in the conservatories and ...
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The introduction traces the genesis of the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts as a forum to remedy the growing disparity that existed between what musicians learned in the conservatories and the new compositional techniques and ideas being employed by composers including improvisation, chance processes, theater pieces, sound installations, mixed media, and electronic and computer music. It presents an overview of contemporary music groups in existence in the early 1960s and notes the changing nature of experimental art making. Lastly, Buffalo's tradition of embracing challenge and innovation is outlined.Less
The introduction traces the genesis of the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts as a forum to remedy the growing disparity that existed between what musicians learned in the conservatories and the new compositional techniques and ideas being employed by composers including improvisation, chance processes, theater pieces, sound installations, mixed media, and electronic and computer music. It presents an overview of contemporary music groups in existence in the early 1960s and notes the changing nature of experimental art making. Lastly, Buffalo's tradition of embracing challenge and innovation is outlined.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195144840
- eISBN:
- 9780199849802
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195144840.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This is a revised and expanded edition of the classic introduction to electronic and computer music, dealing with the development of electronic and computer music from its birth to the present day. ...
More
This is a revised and expanded edition of the classic introduction to electronic and computer music, dealing with the development of electronic and computer music from its birth to the present day. This new edition includes information about software innovations, an increased emphasis on digital media, and discussions of personal music-computing technologies.Less
This is a revised and expanded edition of the classic introduction to electronic and computer music, dealing with the development of electronic and computer music from its birth to the present day. This new edition includes information about software innovations, an increased emphasis on digital media, and discussions of personal music-computing technologies.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
This chapter considers the synthesis and signal processing techniques that underpin the development of computer music. During the early phase of computer development, the only tools available to the ...
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This chapter considers the synthesis and signal processing techniques that underpin the development of computer music. During the early phase of computer development, the only tools available to the pioneers of computer music were mainframe machines, large and expensive items of equipment originally designed as self-contained systems for scientific and commercial data processing. By the end of the 1960s, however, advances in system design were encouraging the development of more compact and less expensive computers for an expanding market, thus widening the opportunities for access and engagement in creative research. This facilitated a trend toward self-sufficiency in the computer music sector, an activity that gathered considerable momentum during the 1970s in both Europe and America.Less
This chapter considers the synthesis and signal processing techniques that underpin the development of computer music. During the early phase of computer development, the only tools available to the pioneers of computer music were mainframe machines, large and expensive items of equipment originally designed as self-contained systems for scientific and commercial data processing. By the end of the 1960s, however, advances in system design were encouraging the development of more compact and less expensive computers for an expanding market, thus widening the opportunities for access and engagement in creative research. This facilitated a trend toward self-sufficiency in the computer music sector, an activity that gathered considerable momentum during the 1970s in both Europe and America.
Giovan Francesco Lanzara
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034456
- eISBN:
- 9780262332309
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034456.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
Chapter 1 tracks the design of the new computer music system in the computer music laboratory of the Institute. It presents the institutional setting of the Music LOGO project and tracks the early ...
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Chapter 1 tracks the design of the new computer music system in the computer music laboratory of the Institute. It presents the institutional setting of the Music LOGO project and tracks the early developments of the system carried out by the musician and the programmer. The design moves and transactions of the two developers are described in detail, focusing on their design conversations, the puzzles and problems they. Issues like the entry points to the music domain, the nature of the computer music interface, the making of new digital objects, multiple representations, and the design of a new computer music educational environment are dealt with.Less
Chapter 1 tracks the design of the new computer music system in the computer music laboratory of the Institute. It presents the institutional setting of the Music LOGO project and tracks the early developments of the system carried out by the musician and the programmer. The design moves and transactions of the two developers are described in detail, focusing on their design conversations, the puzzles and problems they. Issues like the entry points to the music domain, the nature of the computer music interface, the making of new digital objects, multiple representations, and the design of a new computer music educational environment are dealt with.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
This chapter describes the development of computer music. By the middle of the 1970s, the development of computer music had expanded to embrace not only software synthesis and computer-assisted ...
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This chapter describes the development of computer music. By the middle of the 1970s, the development of computer music had expanded to embrace not only software synthesis and computer-assisted composition but also a variety of hybrid synthesis applications. However, the complexities of digital technology and the associated expense still concentrated activities in the hands of the few, for the most part enjoying support from well-endowed institutions and organizations. While this exclusivity was slowly beginning to erode, the longer-term development of the medium was still highly dependent on the activities of leading research institutions. Two of these are described: the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics and the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique.Less
This chapter describes the development of computer music. By the middle of the 1970s, the development of computer music had expanded to embrace not only software synthesis and computer-assisted composition but also a variety of hybrid synthesis applications. However, the complexities of digital technology and the associated expense still concentrated activities in the hands of the few, for the most part enjoying support from well-endowed institutions and organizations. While this exclusivity was slowly beginning to erode, the longer-term development of the medium was still highly dependent on the activities of leading research institutions. Two of these are described: the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics and the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.003.0012
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
This chapter describes the advent of microprocessors and their impact on the development of computer music. Intel manufactured the first true microprocessor — the 4004 — in 1971. By today's ...
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This chapter describes the advent of microprocessors and their impact on the development of computer music. Intel manufactured the first true microprocessor — the 4004 — in 1971. By today's standards, this device was extremely slow and hard to program, difficulties in the latter context being compounded by the fact that only four bits of data or programming code could be handled at a time. Using early single-board microcomputers, a number of enthusiasts began to exploring applications of a musical nature, in particular the construction of elementary control systems for analog synthesizers, communicating data values via a simple low resolution digital-to-analog converter. In 1976, the 6502-based KIM-1 board manufactured by Commodore, attracted particular attention in this context.Less
This chapter describes the advent of microprocessors and their impact on the development of computer music. Intel manufactured the first true microprocessor — the 4004 — in 1971. By today's standards, this device was extremely slow and hard to program, difficulties in the latter context being compounded by the fact that only four bits of data or programming code could be handled at a time. Using early single-board microcomputers, a number of enthusiasts began to exploring applications of a musical nature, in particular the construction of elementary control systems for analog synthesizers, communicating data values via a simple low resolution digital-to-analog converter. In 1976, the 6502-based KIM-1 board manufactured by Commodore, attracted particular attention in this context.
Johan Sundberg
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198508465
- eISBN:
- 9780191687341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198508465.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Music Psychology
This chapter describes some ingenious studies where a computer ‘learns’ to play expressively by being supplied with a set of rules for modulating timing and loudness in certain musical contexts. ...
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This chapter describes some ingenious studies where a computer ‘learns’ to play expressively by being supplied with a set of rules for modulating timing and loudness in certain musical contexts. These rules are modified by playing the results to a panel of human judges and asking for judgements of appropriateness. In summary, it seems that analysis of music performance is beginning to reveal what exactly it is that musicians add to written music, what the code they use is, and from where this code is taken. Therefore, this chapter proposes that analysis of music performance can shed light on basic aspects of music communication.Less
This chapter describes some ingenious studies where a computer ‘learns’ to play expressively by being supplied with a set of rules for modulating timing and loudness in certain musical contexts. These rules are modified by playing the results to a panel of human judges and asking for judgements of appropriateness. In summary, it seems that analysis of music performance is beginning to reveal what exactly it is that musicians add to written music, what the code they use is, and from where this code is taken. Therefore, this chapter proposes that analysis of music performance can shed light on basic aspects of music communication.
Georgina Born
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520202160
- eISBN:
- 9780520916845
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520202160.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, European Cultural Anthropology
This book presents an ethnography of a powerful western cultural organization, the renowned Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. As a year-long ...
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This book presents an ethnography of a powerful western cultural organization, the renowned Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. As a year-long participant-observer, the author studied the social and cultural economy of an institution for the research and production of avant-garde and computer music. The text gives a unique portrait of IRCAM's composers, computer scientists, technicians, and secretaries, interrogating the effects of the cultural philosophy of the controversial avant-garde composer, Pierre Boulez, who directed the institute until 1992. It depicts a major artistic institution trying to maintain its status and legitimacy in an era increasingly dominated by market forces, and in a volatile political and cultural climate, illuminating the erosion of the legitimacy of art and science in the face of growing commercial and political pressures. By tracing how IRCAM has tried to accommodate these pressures while preserving its autonomy, the book reveals the contradictory effects of institutionalizing an avant-garde. Contrary to those who see postmodernism as representing an accord between high and popular culture, this book stresses the continuities between modernism and postmodernism, and how postmodernism itself embodies an implicit antagonism toward popular culture.Less
This book presents an ethnography of a powerful western cultural organization, the renowned Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. As a year-long participant-observer, the author studied the social and cultural economy of an institution for the research and production of avant-garde and computer music. The text gives a unique portrait of IRCAM's composers, computer scientists, technicians, and secretaries, interrogating the effects of the cultural philosophy of the controversial avant-garde composer, Pierre Boulez, who directed the institute until 1992. It depicts a major artistic institution trying to maintain its status and legitimacy in an era increasingly dominated by market forces, and in a volatile political and cultural climate, illuminating the erosion of the legitimacy of art and science in the face of growing commercial and political pressures. By tracing how IRCAM has tried to accommodate these pressures while preserving its autonomy, the book reveals the contradictory effects of institutionalizing an avant-garde. Contrary to those who see postmodernism as representing an accord between high and popular culture, this book stresses the continuities between modernism and postmodernism, and how postmodernism itself embodies an implicit antagonism toward popular culture.
Victor Lazzarini
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197524015
- eISBN:
- 9780197524053
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197524015.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Performing Practice/Studies
This chapter traces the emergence of the spectrum as structural concern in music composition, performance and production. The earliest signs of such developments are traced to the beginning of the ...
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This chapter traces the emergence of the spectrum as structural concern in music composition, performance and production. The earliest signs of such developments are traced to the beginning of the 20th century, in the musical revolutions of that era. This is followed by the developments in audio technology, which brought to the fore the spectral qualities of sound. Post-war electronic music and computer music are shown to have played a decisive part in the conquering of the spectrum by composers. The latter part of the chapter discusses two case studies of spectral music writing.Less
This chapter traces the emergence of the spectrum as structural concern in music composition, performance and production. The earliest signs of such developments are traced to the beginning of the 20th century, in the musical revolutions of that era. This is followed by the developments in audio technology, which brought to the fore the spectral qualities of sound. Post-war electronic music and computer music are shown to have played a decisive part in the conquering of the spectrum by composers. The latter part of the chapter discusses two case studies of spectral music writing.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.003.0025
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
The Internet has extended its influence in recent years to embrace a significant proportion of the activities associated with everyday life. Whereas many of the functional characteristics of this ...
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The Internet has extended its influence in recent years to embrace a significant proportion of the activities associated with everyday life. Whereas many of the functional characteristics of this ubiquitous communications facility will be familiar to readers, their specific impact on the world of computer music may not be immediately evident. In order to understand the true nature and scope of this intersection of digital engineering and creativity it is necessary to understand the true nature of the functional characteristics that determine and ultimately constrain its use in this context. The true significance of the Internet for the future development of the medium has yet to unfold, and this chapter highlights key issues that have yet to be fully addressed.Less
The Internet has extended its influence in recent years to embrace a significant proportion of the activities associated with everyday life. Whereas many of the functional characteristics of this ubiquitous communications facility will be familiar to readers, their specific impact on the world of computer music may not be immediately evident. In order to understand the true nature and scope of this intersection of digital engineering and creativity it is necessary to understand the true nature of the functional characteristics that determine and ultimately constrain its use in this context. The true significance of the Internet for the future development of the medium has yet to unfold, and this chapter highlights key issues that have yet to be fully addressed.
Jack Copeland and Jason Long
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198747826
- eISBN:
- 9780191916946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198747826.003.0032
- Subject:
- Computer Science, History of Computer Science
One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical instrument. It is an urban myth of the music ...
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One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical instrument. It is an urban myth of the music world that the first computer-generated musical notes were heard in 1957, at the Bell Laboratories in the United States. In fact, computer-generated notes were heard in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory at Manchester University about nine years previously. This chapter establishes Turing’s pioneering role in the history of computer music. We also describe how Christopher Strachey, later Oxford University’s first professor of computing, used and extended Turing’s note-playing subroutines so as to create some of the earliest computer-generated melodies. A few weeks after Baby ran its first program (see Chapter 20) Turing accepted a job at Manchester University. He improved on Baby’s bare-bones facilities, designing an input–output system based on wartime cryptographic equipment (see Chapter 6). His tape reader, which used the same teleprinter tape that ran through Colossus, converted the patterns of holes punched across the tape into electrical pulses and fed these to the computer. The reader incorporated a row of light-sensitive cells that read the holes in the moving tape—the same technology that Colossus had used. As the months passed, a large-scale computer took shape in the Manchester Computing Machine Laboratory. Turing called it the ‘Manchester Electronic Computer Mark I’ (Fig. 23.1). A broad division of labour developed that saw Kilburn and Williams working on the hardware and Turing on the software. Williams concentrated his efforts on developing a new form of supplementary memory, a rotating magnetic drum, while Kilburn took the leading role in developing the other hardware. Turing designed the Mark I’s programming system, and went on to write the world’s first programming manual. The Mark I was operational in April 1949, although additional development continued as the year progressed. Ferranti, a Manchester engineering firm, contracted to build a marketable version of the computer, and the basic designs for the new machine were handed over to Ferranti in July 1949. The very first Ferranti computer was installed in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory in February 1951 (Fig. 23.2), a few weeks before the earliest American-built marketable computer, the UNIVAC I, became available.
Less
One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical instrument. It is an urban myth of the music world that the first computer-generated musical notes were heard in 1957, at the Bell Laboratories in the United States. In fact, computer-generated notes were heard in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory at Manchester University about nine years previously. This chapter establishes Turing’s pioneering role in the history of computer music. We also describe how Christopher Strachey, later Oxford University’s first professor of computing, used and extended Turing’s note-playing subroutines so as to create some of the earliest computer-generated melodies. A few weeks after Baby ran its first program (see Chapter 20) Turing accepted a job at Manchester University. He improved on Baby’s bare-bones facilities, designing an input–output system based on wartime cryptographic equipment (see Chapter 6). His tape reader, which used the same teleprinter tape that ran through Colossus, converted the patterns of holes punched across the tape into electrical pulses and fed these to the computer. The reader incorporated a row of light-sensitive cells that read the holes in the moving tape—the same technology that Colossus had used. As the months passed, a large-scale computer took shape in the Manchester Computing Machine Laboratory. Turing called it the ‘Manchester Electronic Computer Mark I’ (Fig. 23.1). A broad division of labour developed that saw Kilburn and Williams working on the hardware and Turing on the software. Williams concentrated his efforts on developing a new form of supplementary memory, a rotating magnetic drum, while Kilburn took the leading role in developing the other hardware. Turing designed the Mark I’s programming system, and went on to write the world’s first programming manual. The Mark I was operational in April 1949, although additional development continued as the year progressed. Ferranti, a Manchester engineering firm, contracted to build a marketable version of the computer, and the basic designs for the new machine were handed over to Ferranti in July 1949. The very first Ferranti computer was installed in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory in February 1951 (Fig. 23.2), a few weeks before the earliest American-built marketable computer, the UNIVAC I, became available.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195144840
- eISBN:
- 9780199849802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195144840.003.0009
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
During the late 1960s, rising expenditure on basic electronic mixing and amplification equipment by the commercial music sector led to the acquisition of increasingly sophisticated studio and stage ...
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During the late 1960s, rising expenditure on basic electronic mixing and amplification equipment by the commercial music sector led to the acquisition of increasingly sophisticated studio and stage resources. A growing curiosity with the synthesis and processing of sound led a number of major rock and pop groups to acquire state-of-the-art resources, offering them creative opportunities that far exceeded those available to most noncommercial composers. It is with Techno that the greatest practical links have been forged with the core activities of electronic and computer music. Its origins can be traced to Detroit, at a time when the city had entered a period of high unemployment as a result of a rapid decline in its core manufacturing industries. There was thus a strong imperative to seek inspiration from more modern technologies, and this permeated the world of popular music.Less
During the late 1960s, rising expenditure on basic electronic mixing and amplification equipment by the commercial music sector led to the acquisition of increasingly sophisticated studio and stage resources. A growing curiosity with the synthesis and processing of sound led a number of major rock and pop groups to acquire state-of-the-art resources, offering them creative opportunities that far exceeded those available to most noncommercial composers. It is with Techno that the greatest practical links have been forged with the core activities of electronic and computer music. Its origins can be traced to Detroit, at a time when the city had entered a period of high unemployment as a result of a rapid decline in its core manufacturing industries. There was thus a strong imperative to seek inspiration from more modern technologies, and this permeated the world of popular music.
James Tenney
Larry Polansky and Lauren Pratt (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038723
- eISBN:
- 9780252096679
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038723.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
One of the twentieth century's most important musical thinkers, the author did pioneering work in multiple fields, including computer music, tuning theory, and algorithmic and computer-assisted ...
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One of the twentieth century's most important musical thinkers, the author did pioneering work in multiple fields, including computer music, tuning theory, and algorithmic and computer-assisted compositions. This book is a collection of the author's hard-to-find writings arranged, edited, and revised by the self-described “composer/theorist.” Tenney argued that “a new kind of music theory is needed which deals with the question of what we actually hear when we listen to a piece of music, as well as how or why we hear as we do.” His collection, which spans the years from 1955 to 2006, constitutes one of the most important bodies of music-theoretical thought of the twentieth century. Each article in this volume asks how new and radical musical ideas might emerge from how we hear. Selections focus on his fundamental concerns—“what the ear hears”—and include thoughts and ideas on perception and form, tuning systems and especially just intonation, information theory, theories of harmonic space, and stochastic (chance) procedures of composition.Less
One of the twentieth century's most important musical thinkers, the author did pioneering work in multiple fields, including computer music, tuning theory, and algorithmic and computer-assisted compositions. This book is a collection of the author's hard-to-find writings arranged, edited, and revised by the self-described “composer/theorist.” Tenney argued that “a new kind of music theory is needed which deals with the question of what we actually hear when we listen to a piece of music, as well as how or why we hear as we do.” His collection, which spans the years from 1955 to 2006, constitutes one of the most important bodies of music-theoretical thought of the twentieth century. Each article in this volume asks how new and radical musical ideas might emerge from how we hear. Selections focus on his fundamental concerns—“what the ear hears”—and include thoughts and ideas on perception and form, tuning systems and especially just intonation, information theory, theories of harmonic space, and stochastic (chance) procedures of composition.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195144840
- eISBN:
- 9780199849802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195144840.003.0022
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
There is a strong argument to the effect that it is no longer relevant to distinguish between “electronic” and “computer” music in considering present day activities. If this view is accepted, the ...
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There is a strong argument to the effect that it is no longer relevant to distinguish between “electronic” and “computer” music in considering present day activities. If this view is accepted, the question then arises: Which is the more appropriate descriptor, or is it the case that neither can now usefully serve this generic purpose? This quest for more appropriate descriptors begs the question as to why any qualification of the term “music” should be necessary in the first place. To many nowadays, devices such as guitars, synthesizers, and audio processors are the primary agents for making music, and to their way of thinking it is acoustic instruments that require a special label rather than their electronic counterparts. A more considered perspective seeks a reconciliation of these philosophical differences, perhaps by recognizing the diversity of sound-producing agents that may be used to generate music, and the ability of many of these tools to serve both serious and more popular applications alike. This in turn highlights yet again the importance of an informed understanding of the musical and the technical characteristics of the various tools that have been developed over the years, and the extent to which they have succeeded in enhancing the working environment for the composer and performer.Less
There is a strong argument to the effect that it is no longer relevant to distinguish between “electronic” and “computer” music in considering present day activities. If this view is accepted, the question then arises: Which is the more appropriate descriptor, or is it the case that neither can now usefully serve this generic purpose? This quest for more appropriate descriptors begs the question as to why any qualification of the term “music” should be necessary in the first place. To many nowadays, devices such as guitars, synthesizers, and audio processors are the primary agents for making music, and to their way of thinking it is acoustic instruments that require a special label rather than their electronic counterparts. A more considered perspective seeks a reconciliation of these philosophical differences, perhaps by recognizing the diversity of sound-producing agents that may be used to generate music, and the ability of many of these tools to serve both serious and more popular applications alike. This in turn highlights yet again the importance of an informed understanding of the musical and the technical characteristics of the various tools that have been developed over the years, and the extent to which they have succeeded in enhancing the working environment for the composer and performer.
Jay Dorfman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199795581
- eISBN:
- 9780197563175
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199795581.003.0004
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Equipment and Technology
for the class, but Mrs. Jones would have the summer to assemble the curriculum and lesson plans, in consultation with the principal and the other music teachers. They all recognized that starting ...
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for the class, but Mrs. Jones would have the summer to assemble the curriculum and lesson plans, in consultation with the principal and the other music teachers. They all recognized that starting this class would bring new students to their excellent music department and could only draw more public attention to their good work. The lab would have 15 student stations and an additional station for the teacher. None of the music teachers or the school’s administrators had any expertise in designing computer labs, so they left that task up to the district’s architects. The information technology (IT) department was enlisted to set up all of the hardware and software and to make appropriate network and server connections, with enough time for Mrs. Jones to get used to the lab before the school year would begin.
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for the class, but Mrs. Jones would have the summer to assemble the curriculum and lesson plans, in consultation with the principal and the other music teachers. They all recognized that starting this class would bring new students to their excellent music department and could only draw more public attention to their good work. The lab would have 15 student stations and an additional station for the teacher. None of the music teachers or the school’s administrators had any expertise in designing computer labs, so they left that task up to the district’s architects. The information technology (IT) department was enlisted to set up all of the hardware and software and to make appropriate network and server connections, with enough time for Mrs. Jones to get used to the lab before the school year would begin.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199746392
- eISBN:
- 9780199332496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746392.003.0013
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition, Popular
This chapter discusses the development of digital audio. It shows that the ultimate constraints to fidelity are determined by two primary factors: first, the sampling rate, which determines the audio ...
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This chapter discusses the development of digital audio. It shows that the ultimate constraints to fidelity are determined by two primary factors: first, the sampling rate, which determines the audio bandwidth; and, second, the quantizing accuracy of the individual samples, which determines the signal purity in terms of audible distortion. The consequences of increasing the specifications on either count are a proportional increase in the amount of digital data that is required to code this higher resolution information.Less
This chapter discusses the development of digital audio. It shows that the ultimate constraints to fidelity are determined by two primary factors: first, the sampling rate, which determines the audio bandwidth; and, second, the quantizing accuracy of the individual samples, which determines the signal purity in terms of audible distortion. The consequences of increasing the specifications on either count are a proportional increase in the amount of digital data that is required to code this higher resolution information.
Jack Copeland and Jason Long
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198747826
- eISBN:
- 9780191916946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198747826.003.0032
- Subject:
- Computer Science, History of Computer Science
One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical ...
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One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical instrument. It is an urban myth of the music world that the first computer-generated musical notes were heard in 1957, at the Bell Laboratories in the United States. In fact, computer-generated notes were heard in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory at Manchester University about nine years previously. This chapter establishes Turing’s pioneering role in the history of computer music. We also describe how Christopher Strachey, later Oxford University’s first professor of computing, used and extended Turing’s note-playing subroutines so as to create some of the earliest computer-generated melodies. A few weeks after Baby ran its first program (see Chapter 20) Turing accepted a job at Manchester University. He improved on Baby’s bare-bones facilities, designing an input–output system based on wartime cryptographic equipment (see Chapter 6). His tape reader, which used the same teleprinter tape that ran through Colossus, converted the patterns of holes punched across the tape into electrical pulses and fed these to the computer. The reader incorporated a row of light-sensitive cells that read the holes in the moving tape—the same technology that Colossus had used. As the months passed, a large-scale computer took shape in the Manchester Computing Machine Laboratory. Turing called it the ‘Manchester Electronic Computer Mark I’ (Fig. 23.1). A broad division of labour developed that saw Kilburn and Williams working on the hardware and Turing on the software. Williams concentrated his efforts on developing a new form of supplementary memory, a rotating magnetic drum, while Kilburn took the leading role in developing the other hardware. Turing designed the Mark I’s programming system, and went on to write the world’s first programming manual. The Mark I was operational in April 1949, although additional development continued as the year progressed. Ferranti, a Manchester engineering firm, contracted to build a marketable version of the computer, and the basic designs for the new machine were handed over to Ferranti in July 1949. The very first Ferranti computer was installed in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory in February 1951 (Fig. 23.2), a few weeks before the earliest American-built marketable computer, the UNIVAC I, became available.
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One of Turing’s contributions to the digital age that has largely been overlooked is his groundbreaking work on transforming the computer into a musical instrument. It is an urban myth of the music world that the first computer-generated musical notes were heard in 1957, at the Bell Laboratories in the United States. In fact, computer-generated notes were heard in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory at Manchester University about nine years previously. This chapter establishes Turing’s pioneering role in the history of computer music. We also describe how Christopher Strachey, later Oxford University’s first professor of computing, used and extended Turing’s note-playing subroutines so as to create some of the earliest computer-generated melodies. A few weeks after Baby ran its first program (see Chapter 20) Turing accepted a job at Manchester University. He improved on Baby’s bare-bones facilities, designing an input–output system based on wartime cryptographic equipment (see Chapter 6). His tape reader, which used the same teleprinter tape that ran through Colossus, converted the patterns of holes punched across the tape into electrical pulses and fed these to the computer. The reader incorporated a row of light-sensitive cells that read the holes in the moving tape—the same technology that Colossus had used. As the months passed, a large-scale computer took shape in the Manchester Computing Machine Laboratory. Turing called it the ‘Manchester Electronic Computer Mark I’ (Fig. 23.1). A broad division of labour developed that saw Kilburn and Williams working on the hardware and Turing on the software. Williams concentrated his efforts on developing a new form of supplementary memory, a rotating magnetic drum, while Kilburn took the leading role in developing the other hardware. Turing designed the Mark I’s programming system, and went on to write the world’s first programming manual. The Mark I was operational in April 1949, although additional development continued as the year progressed. Ferranti, a Manchester engineering firm, contracted to build a marketable version of the computer, and the basic designs for the new machine were handed over to Ferranti in July 1949. The very first Ferranti computer was installed in Turing’s Computing Machine Laboratory in February 1951 (Fig. 23.2), a few weeks before the earliest American-built marketable computer, the UNIVAC I, became available.
James Tenney
Larry Polansky, Lauren Pratt, Robert Wannamaker, and Michael Winter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038723
- eISBN:
- 9780252096679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038723.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
James Tenney reflects on his experiences with computer music during the period 1961–1964. He recalls arriving at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in September 1961 with a number of what he calls ...
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James Tenney reflects on his experiences with computer music during the period 1961–1964. He recalls arriving at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in September 1961 with a number of what he calls musical and intellectual baggage, including various instrumental compositions reflecting the influence of Anton von Webern and Edgard Varèse; a dissatisfaction with all purely synthetic electronic music that he had heard up to that time, particularly with respect to timbre; and a growing interest in the work and ideas of John Cage. He left in March 1964 with six tape compositions of computer-generated sounds and a far better understanding of the physical basis of timbre, among others. Tenney goes on to discuss some of his compositions using computer-generated sounds, such as Analog #1: Noise Study, Four Stochastic Studies and Dialogue, Stochastic String Quartet, Ergodos I and Ergodos II, and Phases. He also describes his rise-time experiment on tone.Less
James Tenney reflects on his experiences with computer music during the period 1961–1964. He recalls arriving at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in September 1961 with a number of what he calls musical and intellectual baggage, including various instrumental compositions reflecting the influence of Anton von Webern and Edgard Varèse; a dissatisfaction with all purely synthetic electronic music that he had heard up to that time, particularly with respect to timbre; and a growing interest in the work and ideas of John Cage. He left in March 1964 with six tape compositions of computer-generated sounds and a far better understanding of the physical basis of timbre, among others. Tenney goes on to discuss some of his compositions using computer-generated sounds, such as Analog #1: Noise Study, Four Stochastic Studies and Dialogue, Stochastic String Quartet, Ergodos I and Ergodos II, and Phases. He also describes his rise-time experiment on tone.