Episode 146

Chapter 07, Computer Music Basics. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music 

Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes.

This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text.

The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings.

There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast.

Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 07, Computer Music Basics from my book Electronic and Experimental music.

Playlist: Early Computer Synthesis

Time

Track Time*

Start

Introduction –Thom Holmes

01:30

00:00

1 Max Mathews, “Numerology” (1960). Direct computer synthesis using an IBM 7090 mainframe computer and the Music III programming language

02:45

01:32

2 James Tenney, “Analog #1: Noise Study” (1961). Direct synthesis and filtering of noise bands at Bell Labs’ facilities.

04:24

04:04

3 Lejaren Hiller, “Computer Cantata” (third movement) (1963). Direct computer synthesis using an IBM 7094 mainframe computer and the Musicomp programming language.

05:41

08:28

4 Jean-Claude Risset, “Mutations I” (1969). Used frequency modulation.

10:23

14:06

5 Charles Dodge, “The Earth’s Magnetic Field” (Untitled, part 1) (1970). Used an IBM mainframe computer and the Music 4BF programming language to convert geophysical data regarding the Earth’s magnetic field into music.

14:00

24:28

6 Laurie Spiegel, “Appalachian Grove I” (1974). Used the Groove program at Bell Labs.

05:23

38:22

7 Curtis Roads, “Prototype” (1975). Used granular synthesis.

06:11

43:48

8 John Chowning, “Stria” (1977). Used the composer’s patented FM synthesis algorithms.

05:14

50:00

9 Jean-Baptiste Barriere, “Chreode” (1983). Granular synthesis using the Chant program at IRCAM; computer-controlled organization of material—a grammar of musical processes prepared with IRCAM’s Formes software.

09:24

55:10

10 Barry Truax, “Riverrun” (1986). Composed using only granulated sampled sound, using Truax’s real-time PODX system.

19:42

01:04:30

Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes.

My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022.

See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation.

For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations.

Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.