Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music

by Joel Chadabe

Book Overview

With a truly global perspective, this vivid and readable narrative provides a comprehensive overview of the history of electronic music. KEY TOPICS: The author draws upon his combined experience as composer, performer, researcher, entrepreneur, and teacher to provide insight into every aspect of electronic music, including the music itself, the instruments, and the business. Based on more than 150 interviews with leaders in the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0133032310
• ISBN13: 9780133032314
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: Pearson
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent but Dry History of Electronic Music

Pricey copy I got wasn’t the condition advertised. The book, however, is a must read if you want learn the history of electronic music. This book and Electronic and Experimental Music by Thom Holmes give encyclopedic reviews of the history of electronic music.

Excellent storytelling

Joel Chadabe does an awesome job of interviewing lots of electronic musicians and sound artists to really give you a feel for what their attitudes and feelings were like. You really get a feel for the excitement for innovation that the composers interviewed in the book have. If you're interested in electronic music, this is an excellent book to pick up.

Pricey but worth it?

Yes, this is a steep price. But if you are deeply interested in the history of electronic music this book is essential. It covers the origins of electric music synthesis from the turn of the century experiments to fairly current commentary on the digital state of the art. Chadabe, also a fine composer and musician, writes with authority on the classical aspect of electronic music. If this book has a flaw it is that it fails to look at the influence of pop/rock culture on electronic music. But to be fair that is not his purpose and this material is covered well elsewhere.I hesitated to purchase this book for some time due to the price but when I did get it I must say that I have no regrets. It is an extremely useful reference which I use regularly and it is well written and fun to read. In short, if you are a fanatic, get this book.

A Promise Fulfilled

This reviewer considers "Electric Sound" to be an important text on the history of 'academic', 'art' or 'classical' electronic music. The subtitle: 'The Past and Promise of Electronic Music' does indeed indicate the historical nature of the work, but the 'promise' seems to refer more to a promise fulfilled, rather than what is described in the last chapter: 'Where Are We Going?' ( which consists of less than 20 pages ). To give you an idea of the book's scope, consider the chapter titles: The Early Instruments, The Great Opening Up of Music to All Sounds, Expansion of the Tape Music Idea, Out of the Studios, Computer Music, Synthesizers, The MIDI World, Inputs and Controls, Making Sound, Automata, Interaction, Where Are We Going? Each chapter illustrates its subject by describing the artists and the particular works that were created using that specific approach to sound realization. The style of writing in the book is conversational in tone, rather than academic. If you love electronic music, then "Electric Sound" will become a welcome addition to your personal library.