Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture

by Thom Holmes

Electronic and Experimental Technology, Music, and Culture provides a thorough treatment of the relevant history behind the marriage of technology and music that has led to the state of electronic music today. Beginning with an early history of electronic music before 1945, the book outlines key composers, inventions, and concepts, ranging from Edgard Varèse to Brian Eno; musique concrète to turntablism; and compositional techniques used in both analog and digital synthesis. The third edition’s reader-friendly writing style, logical organization, and features provide easy access to key ideas, milestones, and concepts.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy

480 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1985

Reviews

[Missmmking · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am into this book... checked it out of the library...along with a number of other books on the subject ...wondering which one should I break down and purchase. This is pleasure reading for me on MUNI (like books about thinking and inventions & creative stuff that stretch the noggin) - I am a bit in love with the subject.
I like the fact that this author also writes books for kids about dinosaurs!!! Nice choices for history lessons for home schools.

[DJ Yossarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW OF THE SIXTH EDITION

I realized, somewhat belatedly, that for me this book is one to refer back to over and over for the next few decades, rather than one to read from page 1 to page 585.

Which isn’t to say I didn’t give that a try — I read the first couple hundreds pages, to my great enjoyment— but the book is so packed with information that I would frequently fall down a rabbit hole, enticed by a random mention of some obscure composition or experiment, or one of the listening guides, or a photo of some odd-looking piece of technology.

I’m sure I’ll pick up where I left off again, and then put it down for a while, because it’s way too interesting not to disappear into it every now and again. But its greatest value is as a reliable reference book.

The publisher provides bonus material on their website, and the author hosts an incredible podcast (The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music), so the whole package makes for a very useful resource. If this stuff is your cup of tea, you will want this book.

[Ben]

First of all, for clarity's sake, I'm reading the third edition. I like this book in a lot of ways, I think the coverage dutifully ranges from the "big names" (Cage, Stockhausen) and important but less celebrated artists, such as the Ann Arbor school (Ashley, Mumma). the listening lists are generally pretty sound, assuming you can find many of these recordings!

And yet, I have a major complaint. The edition I'm reading is riddled with errors, ranging from minor to obvious. I've counted five so far, and I have a feeling there are more. For example: The author lists Xenakis' "Metastasis" as being written in 1964, with the aid of computers. It was actually composed in 1954, years before Xenakis (or anyone else for that matter) used computers as a means of composing music.

I'm tempted to contact the author and point out the various things I've found.

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm extremely persnikkity about bks on this subject b/c it's one of my main obsessions. NO bk is ever likely to cover the subject as thoroughly as I'd like. Such bks are always about superstars &, if they're written by NYC authors, then they're about NYC superstars. Dullsville, daddio. Holmes at least attempts to cover a broader spectrum of people. I liked this one enuf to even read the revised 2nd edition. On the downside, though, Holmes is a NYC writer wch means that when he knows about obscure people they're obscure NYC people. Oh well, it' still a good bk.