ELECTRONIC MUSIC
WHAT INTERESTS ME
IN THE FIELD OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC?
Electronic music started developing as early as the 1920s but was not widely understood and certainly not accepted.
It took many revolutions and adaptations before mainstream audiences started appreciating its existence.
I was brought up listening to recorded acoustic music which my father played on the HIFI (High fidelity) in the early 2000.
Also hearing pop music on my mom’s radio that she turned on when ever she cooked.
I was too young to think about how the world works but was aware that there were two different musical worlds amongst me. I must say that I felt a deeper connection with classical music than other styles.
That’s when I asked my father if I could have piano lessons at the age of 8 years old.
When I started my first year at Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music in 2016 majoring in Piano. The Institute provided many opportunities for me to experience new areas of music besides Classical in different events such as Symposium and concerts that the institute hosted. When I was in my 3rd year at PGVIM, I met Dr.Enrico Bertelli (Executive Director of Conductive Music ) who gave a workshop on Arduino and Basic analog synthesisers. I had so much fun learning how to build my own instrument. From that I gradually became interested in synthesisers.
For this, I am now investigating the history of this technology as well as looking at the pioneers who developed the sounds and repertoire who marked that history.
Moreover I am learning how to use software such as Logic Pro-x and Ableton Live to create electronic pieces for my project.
I feel it is my duty as a 21st century musician to take on what the pioneers in the Electronic music have been working hard for the past 80 years in making it exist to create something worthwhile for other generations in the future.
HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC
Think of early electronic music and you’ll probably picture the disco anthems of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But did you know that the first electronic music instrument can be traced back to the work of Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821-1894). He was a German physicist, mathematician and author of the seminal work "SENSATIONS OF TONE: Psychological Basis for Theory of Music" (c1860).
Helmholtz built an electronically controlled instrument to analyse combinations of tones the "Helmholtz Resonator".
Helmholtz Resonator
The Helmholtz Resonator uses electromagnetically vibrating metal tines and glass or metal resonating spheres the machine could be used for analysing the constituent tones that create complex natural sounds. Helmholtz was concerned solely with the scientific analysis of sound and had no interest in direct musical applications.
The theoretical musical ideas were provided by Ferruccio Busoni, the Italian composer and pianists who's influential essay "Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music" was inspired by accounts of Thaddeus Cahill's 'Telharmonium'.
In 1896 Thaddeus Cahil (An American Lawyer and inventor) Developed an electrical organ known as the Telharmonium or Dynamophone which used tone wheels and a rotating metal disk to generate musical sounds as electrical signals by additive synthesis which was also used in William Duddell's "Singing Arc' in 1899. Sadly these experiments were left off when the development of vacuum tube technology came in 1906.
Image of Telharmonium
By Thaddeus Cahill
Image of Singing Arc By William Duddell
The Vacuum Tube is a device that controls electrical current flow and was mainly used device in radio technology. Instruments to first exploit the vacuum tube were the 'Theremin' (1917) 'Ondes Martenot' (1928), the 'Sphäraphon' (1921) the 'Pianorad' (1926). The Vacuum tube was to remain the primary type of audio synthesis until the invention of the integrated circuit in the 1960's.
Image of Vacuum Tube
Image of Integrated Circuits
In the early 1960’s Integrated Circuits (A small chip that can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, microprocessor, or even computer memory) was commonly used. One example of an instrument designer is Robert Moog. He created a new generation of easy to use, and fundamental synthesizer concepts such as the pitch wheel, modularity, envelope generation, and voltage control. He is credited for helping bring synthesizers to a wider audience and influencing the development of popular music. Progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd(1965) made the iconic Moog synthesizer one of the most important aspects of their sound. Pop rock bands like The Beatles(1957) also began to incorporate keyboards and synthesizers into some of their experimental songs.
Later on in the 1980’s electronic instruments were the digital synthesisers. These synthesisers were software controlled offering complex control over various forms of synthesis previously only available on extremely expensive studio synthesisers.But now with the advanced technology, we are able to access these synthesisers via computer programs such as Ableton Live , LogicPro etc. without spending a lot of money buying separate synthesisers for different use.
Image of The Moog Synthesiser
By Bob Moog