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Inside Computer Music
Inside Computer Music is an investigation of how new technological developments have influenced the creative possibilities of composers of computer music in the last 50 years. This book combines detailed research into the development of computer music techniques with nine case studies that analyze key works in the musical and technical development of computer music. The book's companion website offers demonstration videos of the techniques used and downloadable software. There, readers can view interviews and test emulations of the software used by the composers for themselves. The software also presents musical analyses of each of the nine case studies to enable readers to engage with the musical structure aurally and interactively.
432 pages, Paperback
Published September 17, 2020
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About the author
Michael Clarke
55 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There are several authors in the GoodReads database with this name. This profile will contain more than one author. Those listed below have multiple books listed on GoodReads.
Michael Clarke (2 spaces): adaptations of ancient writings
Michael Clarke (3 spaces): GRs’ author of All Day, Every Day
Michael Clarke (4 spaces): non-fiction, past director of RUSI, Visiting Professor of Defence Studies King’s College London
Michael Clarke (5 spaces): cricketeer
Michael Clarke (6 spaces): GRs’ author with books on marketing and social media
Michael Clarke (7 spaces): late martial artist
Michael Clarke (8 spaces): non-fiction, specializes in China and the Far East
Michael Clarke (9 spaces): Director of the Scottish National Gallery
Michael Clarke (10 spaces): tween book series Pick Pock, Tick Tock
Michael Clarke (11 spaces): non-fiction, late sociology professor from Universities of Birmingham and of Liverpool
Michael Clarke (12 spaces): non-fiction, Irish professor of classics at National University of Ireland
Michael Clarke (2 spaces): adaptations of ancient writings
Michael Clarke (3 spaces): GRs’ author of All Day, Every Day
Michael Clarke (4 spaces): non-fiction, past director of RUSI, Visiting Professor of Defence Studies King’s College London
Michael Clarke (5 spaces): cricketeer
Michael Clarke (6 spaces): GRs’ author with books on marketing and social media
Michael Clarke (7 spaces): late martial artist
Michael Clarke (8 spaces): non-fiction, specializes in China and the Far East
Michael Clarke (9 spaces): Director of the Scottish National Gallery
Michael Clarke (10 spaces): tween book series Pick Pock, Tick Tock
Michael Clarke (11 spaces): non-fiction, late sociology professor from Universities of Birmingham and of Liverpool
Michael Clarke (12 spaces): non-fiction, Irish professor of classics at National University of Ireland
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 3, 2021
This book presents the sort of wisdom one gets from talking to someone who's been working in computer music for a long time, written in a well-tied-together narrative missing from basically any other computer music book I've encountered. Each chapter presents a historical account of a specific technical feature culminating in how it relates to a piece of music. Where most books usually present either decontextual technique or inaudible history, this book integrates them together in a way that makes it quite possibly the clearest and most provocative text I've ever seen on classic computer music.
I should note I haven't gone through all of the supplemental resources---I've skipped through some of the videos, but I don't have the space on my computer to install the software. But, you can go to the accompanying website if you want to poke around. In general, the software is tailored to demonstrate specific features pointed out in the text, again analogous to what one might encounter in a particularly good class on electronic music.
I do have two quibbles with the text. The first is that in picking a set of pieces there's inevitably a danger of either implicitly or explicitly creating some sort of canon, and saying which pieces are included or excluded. Although thinking about that is beside the point of the book, it would have been nice to have a clearer delineation of scope---this book really is centered on IRCAM, the French government contemporary music institute. The second is that the chapters might be a bit too strictly chronological, to the point that some topics come up briefly but aren't explained because they don't fit as neatly (ring modulation is mentioned a few times but never defined or in the index), and they do get a bit repetitive in structure if not in content.
I should note I haven't gone through all of the supplemental resources---I've skipped through some of the videos, but I don't have the space on my computer to install the software. But, you can go to the accompanying website if you want to poke around. In general, the software is tailored to demonstrate specific features pointed out in the text, again analogous to what one might encounter in a particularly good class on electronic music.
I do have two quibbles with the text. The first is that in picking a set of pieces there's inevitably a danger of either implicitly or explicitly creating some sort of canon, and saying which pieces are included or excluded. Although thinking about that is beside the point of the book, it would have been nice to have a clearer delineation of scope---this book really is centered on IRCAM, the French government contemporary music institute. The second is that the chapters might be a bit too strictly chronological, to the point that some topics come up briefly but aren't explained because they don't fit as neatly (ring modulation is mentioned a few times but never defined or in the index), and they do get a bit repetitive in structure if not in content.
Displaying 1 of 1 review