Week 8 - Electroacoustic-Soundscape

ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC

SOUNDSCAPE

Week 8

Early Experiments in Technology

• The central technology explored during this era was electricity. Composers began incorporating electrical technologies into their work, leading to innovative methods to generate and manipulate sound.

• Modified instruments, such as the Theremin introduced in 1920, allowed for musical creations that were previously unattainable. This marked a significant turning point in music history, as new sonic textures and dimensions emerged from adaptations of traditional instruments.

• Edgard Varèse, a pioneer in the field, famously stated: "obtaining different vibrations of sound, just as the painter achieves different gradations and intensities of colour." This analogy underscores his belief that the advancement of music was intrinsically linked to the development of electrical technology, a view he articulated as early as 1916.

Musique Concrète

• The advent of the tape recorder following World War II revolutionized sound exploration and manipulation. The ability to use magnetic tape enabled composers to record, edit, and store sounds with unprecedented flexibility and precision.

• Pierre Schaeffer was a major figure in this domain, coining the term 'musique concrète' to describe music created by working directly with sound samples rather than conventional musical notation. This approach allowed composers to explore a new dimension of creativity by working directly within their medium, often eliminating the need for live performers.

Techniques in Musique Concrète

• Speed Change: Altering the playback speed of tape not only changed the pitch but also transformed the timbre of the sound, fundamentally altering its character.

• Manipulation Techniques:

  • Editing portions of sounds to rearrange or change rhythms while maintaining their integrity.

  • Varying playback speed to create new pitch and tempo effects.

  • Playing sounds in reverse to create surprising auditory experiences.

  • Combining different sounds can lead to entirely new sonic landscapes.

Importance of the Sound Object

• Schaeffer defined a 'sound object' as any treated natural sound, emphasizing that all sounds, whether musical or environmental, can serve as legitimate material for composition.

• Techniques are intended to dissociate sounds from their original context, enabling expansion and synthesis on a purely musical level. This shift moves away from mere anecdotal narratives toward a more dramatic interplay of sounds, giving rise to complex auditory landscapes.

Musique Concrète vs. Electronic Music

• Musique concrète is characterized by the use of natural sounds recorded from the environment, while electronic music typically involves sounds produced artificially through electronic means. This distinction highlights different approaches to sound creation and manipulation.

• Key composers such as Olivier Messiaen, Edgard Varèse, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis were pivotal figures who explored the principles of musique concrète at Schaeffer's studio in Paris, pushing the boundaries of sound art.

Developments Since the 1960s

• Since the 1960s, composers have gained access to new technologies and approaches to electroacoustic music, leading to a departure from the need to replicate acoustic instruments in their works.

• A notable shift occurred toward prioritizing timbre and texture over traditional melodic and harmonic concerns. This transition facilitated the emergence of electronic music as a distinct genre, blending natural sound sources with synthetic elements, resulting in a rich tapestry of auditory experiences by the late 1960s.

• Musique concrète began to incorporate synthetic sounds, laying the groundwork for live electroacoustic music performances and the electronic music genre known as electronica.

Significant Composers and Works

• Pierre Henry: A notable student of Schaeffer, Henry's important contributions to musique concrète include works such as:

  • Symphonie pour un homme seul (1950): An iconic piece showcasing the potential of sound manipulation.

  • Variations pour une porte et un soupir (1963): A work exploring the nuances of everyday sounds.

• Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001): A Greek composer renowned for integrating mathematical theories into his music, his influential work Diamorphose (1957) reflects complex structural ideas within sound.

Acousmatic Music

• Acousmatic music refers to compositions intended for listening through means where the source of the sound is not visible, allowing for a unique listening experience that focuses on the auditory textures and rhythms.

Soundscape Concept

• R. Murray Schafer emphasizes the concept of the soundscape as an acoustic field of study, akin to a landscape, illustrating how various sound environments evolve in relation to technology and culture over time. Soundscapes are viewed as dynamic entities that reflect cultural and contextual interpretations, continually evolving with advancements in technology.

Cultural Aspects of Soundscapes

• The study of soundscapes emphasizes that sound is not merely a natural phenomenon but is shaped by cultural contexts and interpretations, weaving together elements of both the natural and built environment into a composite culture.

Implications of Sound and Space

• New technologies have dissociated sound from its physical space, affecting listener experiences in profound ways. The engineering of sound environments can lead to a growing uniformity across different venues, including concert halls, studios, and public spaces, altering how audiences perceive music and sound art.

Soundscape Composition

• Soundscape composition is characterized by its use of recognizable environmental sounds, which serve to evoke associations and memories within listeners. Unlike musique concrète, soundscape compositions aim to preserve and enhance the original context of sounds, appealing to the listener's sensory experiences and memories, thus creating a more immersive auditory experience.