Julio’s Creative Music Technology Teaching

FoEM: Resources

There are few good books concerning the development and practice of electronic and electro-acoustic music. Many are out of print (although all those listed below are available in University Library), and most are concerned with historical or technical developments rather than musical and aesthetic issues. The following list should always be used in conjunction with your primary resource, that is, recordings of the music itself. Most of the pieces mentioned in these books are available in the library on CD and the emphasis of your own-time work should be on concentrated and repeated listening.

Books

• Cage, J. (1937) “The Future of Music: Credo” in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004)  Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum Int. Pub.
• Chadabe, J. (1997) Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall (A moderately good survey of developments throughout the twentieth century, if lacking in a consideration of musical issues. Not particularly well written, but reasonably up to date)
• Cox, C. & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum Int. Publishing (A very useful collection of writings by theorists, composers and commentators of contemporary, and particularly, electronic and electroacoustic music. Worth buying)
• Emmerson, S., ed. (1986) The Language of Electroacoustic Music, London: Macmillan (A useful collection of varied writings electronic and electroacoustic music and culture)
• Griffiths, P. (1979) A Guide to Electronic Music, London: Thames and Hudson ( Somewhat out of date and not, therefore, representative of more recent developments. However, Griffiths writes very well and the book considers both historical and aesthetic issues. Out of print but in the library collection )
• Griffiths, P. (1995) Modern Music and After: Directions Since 1945, Oxford :OUP ( An updated version of the above. Again, not specific to electronic music, although containing many references to important pieces. Not always easy to read but a very useful guide to listening and further reading )
• Holmes, T.B. (1985) Electronic and Experimental Music, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
• Holmes, T.B (2002) Electronic and Experimental Music: Foundations of New Music and New Listening, London: Routledge (The first edition (now out of print) is a useful and readable historical text. The new, updated edition is substantially re-written, but places too much emphasis on the work of American composers)
• Maconie, R., ed. (1989) Stockhausen on Music: Lectures and Interviews, London: Marion Boyars
• Manning, P. (2004) Electronic & Computer Music, Oxford: OUP (A detailed and thorough account of the development of electronic music. An excellent text, although one which includes a fairly large amount of technical information)
• Reich, S. (1968)  “Music as a Gradual Process” in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Russolo, L. (1913) “The Art of Noises” in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Schafer, R.M. (1973) “The Music of the Environment”, in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Schaeffer, P. (1966) “Acousmatics”, in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Stockhausen, K.  et al. (1996) “Stockhausen vs. the Technocrats”, C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Varèse, E. (1967)  “The Liberation of Sound”, in C. Cox & Warner, D., eds. (2004) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music, New York: Continuum
• Wishart, T. (1996) On Sonic Art, Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers

Journals

• • Organised Sound, OUP.
  • Computer Music Journal, The MIT Press.
  • Leonardo Music Journal, The MIT Press.
  • Contemporary Music Review, Routledge.

(Each of these journals is an important resource for issues relating to electronic music of all kinds)

Recommended Internet Resources

Great care should be taken when reading material on the Internet. Whilst many sites are a valuable source of information, there are rarely editorial restrictions in place and many sites contain out-of-date and inaccurate information. You should also be very wary of including material from Internet sites in your written work and you should familiarise yourself with proper referencing procedures and definitions of plagiarism.

120 Years of Electronic Music – Electronic Musical Instruments 1870 – 1990

www.obsolete.com/120_years/

An illustrated and comprehensive guide to electronic musical instruments.

The Electronic Music Foundation

www.emf.org

“The Electronic Music Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to increasing public understanding of the role that electronic music, in its myriad forms and technologies, plays in our world.” A useful site allowing access to a range of other sources of information. Also see Arts Electric – www.arts-electric.org

CDe Music

www.cdemusic.org

The retail site of The Electronic Music Foundation. Many interesting CDs are available from CDe Music.

Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM)

www.ircam.fr/index-e.html?L=1

One of the principal European centres for electronic and electro-acoustic music development. The site is in French and English.

Sonic Arts Network

www.sonicartsnetwork.org

The UK body representing and supporting a wide range of events and initiatives concerned with the use of technology in music making. Worth becoming a member.

Electroacoustic.org

www.electroacoustic.org

“Electroacoustic.org aims to provide professional information in the field of electro-acoustic music and sonic arts.”

Norman, K., 2004. ‘The same trail twice: Talking Rain with Hildegard Westerkamp’,

www.novamara.com/soundingart/online/chapter4.pdf

Lansky, P.,  nd.  ‘My Radiohead Adventure’

www.music.princeton.edu/paul/radiohead.ml.html

The World Soundscape Project

www.sfu.ca/~truax/wsp.html

Chris Watson hompage.

www.chriswatson.net

Recommended Listening

These represent your primary resource and you should listen to as many works as you can.

Repeated and concentrated listening is essential.

Alvarez, Javier

CD – Papalotl

Aphex Twin

CD – Come to Daddy

Barron, Louis and Bebe

The Forbidden Planet

Berio, Luciano

Thema – Omaggio a Joyce

Cage, John

Fontana Mix

Chowning, John

Stria, Turenas, Phone, Sabelith

d’Escriván, Julio

Sin Ti por el Alma Adentro,

Salto Mortal, Noronquí,

Supermoderno1.0

Harrison, Jonty

CD - Klang

CD – Articles indéfinis

CD – Évidence matérielle

Harvey, Jonathan

Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco

Tombeau de Messiaen

Kraftwerk

CD – Computer World

CD – Man Machine

Lansky, Paul

Idle Chatter

Mild und Leise (not in Library)

Ligeti, György

Artikulation [with listening score]

Lucier, Alvin

I am Sitting in a Room

McNabb, Michael

Dreamsong

Parmegiani, Bernard

De Natura Sonorum I-XXII,

CD – Violostries, Dedans-Dehors

Pour en finir avec le pouvoir d’Orphée,

Rouge-mort:thanatos, Exercisme 3,

le Présent composé

Reich, Steve

Come Out

Risset, Jean-Claude

Inharmonique

Sud

Dialogues

Mutations

Schaeffer, Pierre

CD -  Pierre Schaeffer: Musical Works

Smalley, Denis

CD – Impacts intérieurs

CD – Sources/scènes

Inoue, Tetsu & Stone, Carl.

CD – Pict.soul

Stockhausen, Karlheinz

Gesang der Jünglinge

Kontakte [2 versions available]

Hymnen

Studies I and II

Subotnick, Morton

Touch

Jacob’s Room

Tudor, David

Neural Synthesis

Varèse, Edgard

Déserts

Poème électronique

Viñao, Alejandro

Triple Concerto, Son Entero

Toccata del Mago [CMC 11]

Wishart, Trevor

Vox 5

Red Bird [with separate 'score']

Tongues of Fire

Xenakis, Iannis

Concert pH II

La Légende d’Eer

Various

The Art of the Theremin

Electronic Music Pioneers

Electro Acoustic Music Classics

Digital Soundscapes

Elektronische Musik

Acousmatrix 7

Cultures électroniques

– Bourges 2001

Spike – works from BEAST

Computer Music Currents [13 volumes]

Sonic Arts Networks 2004 CDs.

Leonardo Music Journal CDs