Customer Reviews

Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture

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Thom Holmes's third edition of this book is divided into four parts: a history of electronic music up to 1960; an explanation of the techniques and tools used in analog synthesis; a discussion of the principles and techniques behind digital synthesis; and an exploration of various genres of electronic music. Because this book is a textbook, the coverage of what Holmes chooses to discuss is admirably thorough. However, because it is a textbook, meant for use in the college classroom, Holmes focuses almost entirely on non-popular music, i.e. "classical" and experimental music. There is only one chapter on electronic popular music, and it seems to me the one he spent the least amount of time updating. It's hard to write about electronic popular music without discussing electronic dance music, yet, apart from a sidebar featuring Gary Numan (!), Holmes manages to do it. Holmes focuses exclusively on "avant-garde" popular music in this chapter, and while that's understandable and perhaps acceptable for a college textbook, it's also a little misleading as far as gaining an understanding of electronic music in general is concerned. Despite these points, this is a very well-written book and a solid introduction to electronic music.

This book is excellent! It covers a wide range of electronic music, from avant-garde to hip-hop. There's an interesting mix of technical details and general information, making the book a good choice for classroom use as well as casual reading.