Electronic music

Electronic music is a broad category of musical genres. It relies on electronic musical instruments and circuitry-based technology. It also uses software and general-purpose electronics, such as personal computers. This music can be categorized into two main types. The first is purely electronic music. These instruments use electronic oscillators or synthesizers to generate sound. They do not require any mechanical parts to create acoustic waves. The second type is electroacoustic music. This includes electromechanical instruments like the electric guitar or Hammond organ. These devices use mechanical parts like strings or hammers to create sound. Then, magnetic pickups and amplifiers convert those waves into electrical signals.

Electroacoustic music offers a way to use the entire world as an instrument. Composers can take sounds from nature, such as bird calls or ocean waves. They can also use ambient noises like traffic or people talking. Musicians use microphones, tape recorders, and digital samplers to capture these sounds. During live performances, they use audio consoles and electronic effects to modify sounds in real-time. This process allows artists to transform everyday noises into complex musical compositions.

The history of these sounds began in the late 19th century. One of the earliest massive devices was the Telharmonium. It was large enough to stream music through telephone networks. At the turn of the 20th century, these inventions were mostly used for demonstrations. However, some thinkers saw great potential in them. The Futurist movement, led by people like Luigi Russolo, wanted to include machine noises in music. They believed electricity would create a new kingdom of sound.

Technological shifts in the 1920s and 1930s made instruments more practical. The development of the vacuum tube allowed for smaller, amplified instruments. This era saw the commercial production of the theremin and the ondes Martenot. Composers like Charles Ives used these tools to explore microtonal music. Microtonal music uses intervals smaller than a traditional half-step. In the 1940s, magnetic audio tape changed how musicians worked. In Egypt, Halim El-Dabh used a wire recorder to create early tape music in 1944. This work, titled "The Expression of Zaar," used echo and reverberation.

In Paris, a specific style called musique concrète emerged in 1948. Pierre Schaeffer is credited with creating this practice. It involved editing together recorded fragments of natural and industrial sounds. Musicians used disc cutting lathes, turntables, and filters to build these works. In 1953, Karlheinz Stockhausen produced music in Germany using only electronic generators. This was a major step for purely electronic composition. By the 1950s, electronic music was also developing in Japan and the United States.

The 1960s and 1970s brought electronic music into the mainstream. Digital computer music was pioneered during the 1960s. In the early 1970s, Moog synthesizers and drum machines helped popularize the sound. This led to the rise of genres like disco, synth-pop, and hip-hop. The 1980s introduced mass-produced digital synthesizers like the Yamaha DX7. This decade also saw the development of MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI allows different electronic instruments to communicate with one another.

By the 1990s, electronic music had reached every corner of musical life. Technology became more affordable, allowing more people to produce music. Concepts that were once radical are now standard in pop music. These include digital sampling and the use of environmental sounds. Electronic music is now found in many genres, including rap, techno, and jazz. It even influences traditional music, such as artists in Iran and Turkey blending techno with local instruments. In 1989, the Love Parade in Berlin celebrated this culture with over 1 million visitors.