Electronic and Computer Music

Fourth edition.

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.

CONTENIDO:

List of Illustrations
Preface
About the Companion Website

1. The Background, to 1945

I. Developments from 1945 to 1960
2. Paris and Musique Concrète
3. Cologne and Electronische Musik
4. Milan and Elsewhere in Europe
5. America

II. New Horizons in Electronic Design
6. The Voltage-Controlled Synthesizer

III. The Electronic Repertory from 1960
7. Works for Tape
8. Live Electronic Music
9. Rock and Pop Electronic Music

IV. The Digital Revolution to 1980
10. The Foundations of Computer Music
11. From Computer Technology to Musical Creativity
12. The Microprocessor Revolution

V. Digital Audio
13. The Characteristics of Digital Audio

VI. MIDI
14. The Development of the MIDI Communications Protocol
15. From Analog to Digital: The Evolution of MIDI Hardware
16. From Microcomputer to Music Computer: The MIDI Perspective
17. Further Advances in Hardware Design
18. The Changing Fortunes of the MIDI Manufacturing Sector

VII. Desktop Synthesis and Signal Processing
19. From Minicomputer to Advanced Computer Workstation
20. The Personal Computer
21. The Digital Audio Workstation
22. Laptop Music and Related Activities
23. Synthesis, Signal Processing, and Spatialization
24. Performance Controllers: Evolution and Change

VIII. Global Networking
25. The Internet

26. Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index