Analytical Methods of Electroacoustic Music (Studies on New Music Research) [Hardcover]

Mary Simoni (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0415976294 | ISBN-13: 978-0415976299 | Edition: 1

Containing extensive artwork serving as demonstration, as well as a DVD with sound and video clips, this collection of essays on electroacoustic music explores the creative possibilities to be found in various forms of musical analysis.

Taking pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre as the four basic elements of music, the authors discuss electroacoustic works and examine:

* the applications of neumes
* contemporary staff notation
* sound orchestra and score files
* time-domain representations
* spectrograms.

Taking into consideration both the positive aspects (preservation of the abstract) and negative aspects (creative limitation) of these analytical methods, the authors have created a useful resource for students of electroacoustic music.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415976294
• ISBN-13: 978-0415976299
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,675,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars hmmmmm, August 27, 2010

By 

Garth Paine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Analytical Methods of Electroacoustic Music (Studies on New Music Research) (Hardcover)

This book contains a number of essays that whilst informative generally cover material covered elsewhere and in particular previously in Organised Sound Jounral. As such the book adds little to the body of knowledge available elesewhere

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful even for simple fans of the composers discussed, September 12, 2009

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Analytical Methods of Electroacoustic Music (Studies on New Music Research) (Hardcover)

The collection ANALYTICAL METHODS OF ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC ed. Mary Simoni contains analyses of eight classic pieces using different analytical techniques. I don't do anything with music academically or professionally, but I am a fan of some of the composers here, and the book proved useful to getting even more enjoyment out of their music.

Michael Clarke's analysis of Jonathan Harvey's "Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco" is very informative on the exact construction of that great creation for eight-track tape, but somewhat frustrating. Clarke takes inspiration from the "functional analyses" of Hans Keller, where the work is analyzed not by talking about it, but by writing variations on its material. Consequently, Clarke includs on the accompanying DVD a program where you can proceed through the track and play with some of its parameters. The text in the book makes great reference to this program's operation, which I didn't much care for because I don't want to install all manner of new software on my computer. Still, the article can tell you much about Harvey's methods, and if you look carefully at some of the figures you can see the exact timing of certain events and thus be better oriented in listening.

Andrew May contributeed an analysis of Philippe Manoury's "Jupiter" for flute and computer. This is a fairly interesting piece, which I first heard on one of Ades' collections of IRCAM music. I still think Manoury is something of a second-tier composer, but May's analysis does show that "Jupiter" isn't just a test piece for some greater composer to follow (e.g. Boulez in his "...explosante-fixe..."). In fact, there's some creativity in the computer part that I seem to have overlooked because I didn't listen closely enough, and May lays it out. The article also shows the impressive computer wizardry necessary for keeping the soloist and computer in sync. The last article of the book, by Momilani Ramstrum, is an analysis of Manoury's opera "K...", which I've not yet heard but does sound worth seeking out.

Mara Helmuth contribues an analysis of Barry Truax's "Riverrun". Here her main concerns are the use of granular synthesis -- at the time a very novel procedure -- and the work's octophonic spatialization. Benjamin Broening's article on Alvin Lucier's "I am sitting in a room" speaks much of how speech degrades from semantic meaning to pure sound over the course of the work. Simoni writes about Paul Lanksy's "As If", a piece I have not yet heard. There are also supplementary chapters on visualization of musical signals and the response of listeners to these pieces.