Music 154

What is electroacoustic music? How did it all begin? Acousmatic, computer music, algorithmic composition, tape music, glitch, electronic, musique concrète, noise, laptop music, DJing, organized sound... This course will provide a brief historical survey of electroacoustic music and discuss some of the most salient issues associated with it, from both a compositional and musicological point of view. Topics to be covered include: Definitions of musical sounds; Schaefferian theory and musique concrète; serialism and elektronische Musik; tape music and computer music in the USA; analysis of electroacoustic music; sampling and intellectual property; algorithmic and computer-aided composition; live-electronics and improvisation. The course does not require previous experience in the field. Classes will be based on discussion of selected listening and reading materials, as well as hands-on electroacoustic fun with sounds.