Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking [Paperback]

Nicolas Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

Perfectly designed for practitioners and students of electronic music, installation and sound art, this is a long-needed, practical and engaging introduction to the craft of making - and creatively cannibalizing - electronic circuits for artistic purposes. From electronic radios to toys, "Handmade Electronic Music" is a fascinating guided tour through the world of electronics and the, encouraging artists to get to know the inner workings of basic electronic devices so they can creatively use them for their own ends. Written throughout from the practical point of view of the artist, "Handmade Electronic Music" teaches: the basics of practical circuitry; basic electronic principles; a brief history of twentieth-century electronic devices; how to work with all kinds of analogue circuitry and sounds; and a step-by-step through the process, until they are capable of building their own instruments that are usable, practical and cheap. This unique, fun and easy-to use guide includes a CD illustrating the many sounds that devices can produce, and stands as the must-have guide for anyone who wants to get their hands onto and into the world of electronic devices.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here we have, at last, an electronics book that caters to people who have ideas first, and electronics second…Collins offers a splendidly integrative look into the history of "sound art," basic electronics, and junk revisioning." --Make Magazine

"Nicolas Collins wants to tear apart your CD player..." --Wired Magazine

"...a brilliant, hands-on guide to electronic music making....[Collins] never ceases to amaze me with his latest bit of music or techno-logical innovation." --TapeOp Magazine

About the Author

Nicolas Collins, an active composer and performer of electronic music, is a Professor of Sound at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has led Hacking workshops around the world, from Beijing to Brussels, and has worked with John Cage, Alvin Lucier, David Tudor, and many other masters of modern music.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Pap/Com edition (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415975921
• ISBN-13: 978-0415975926
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rediscovers the simple facts of electronic music, January 7, 2007

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking (Paperback)

Ever since products such as GarageBand took over the low-level tasks of producing electronic music and turned us all into application users, much has been forgotten about making music with low-level electronic components. In the case of younger electronic musicians, this may be an art form they never even knew in the first place. Although there is an advantage is computer musicians speaking a common language through a common application, something fascinating in the realm of experimentation has been largely lost. This book returns to the days of yesteryear with some projects in making your own electronic music with basic devices.

The book starts with some brief information on the tools you'll need plus the author's seven rules for experimentation. Part two is dedicated to listening. He shows you how to use radios and coils to find hidden electronic music, how to use the speaker as a microphone and vice versa, and how to use piezo disks to pick up tiny sounds, among other topics. Part three, on touching, shows you how to transform a portable radio into a synthesizer, change the clock circuit in toys to produce new sounds, and use photocells and pressure pads to "play" the modified toy. Part four, Building, shows the reader how to breadboard up some oscillators along with some controlling circuitry and produce gating, ducking, tremolo and panning effects. Part five, Looking, concerns translating video to audio using commonly found devices. The final section goes into depth on mixing circuits, how to build a good but cheap amplifier, connecting sensors to computers via game controllers, and a section on power supplies.

The book is written such that you should proceed from beginning to end, since the devices in earlier sections are used to assemble the devices in later chapters. By the time you finish you should have entire experimental musical instruments that you have assembled yourself.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Beyond Circuit Bending, October 13, 2006

By 

R. O. Smith (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking (Paperback)

Circuit Benders - if you are ready for something different get of a copy of Collins' informative book. It covers a wide variety of approaches for creating unusual sounds (and sights) in a low tech, user friendly manner. For example, the chapter on making an oscillator uses photos of the breadboard as well as schematics. As someone who finds electronic diagrams intimidating, Collins' approach made construction a snap. It also helped me better understand how to read schematics. Creating visuals with LCDs and by altering video cameras further expand the realms of hacking. The included CD features work by artists and musicians using devices found in the book. What a great idea. Very inspiring. I wish the Ghazala book (which is also great)had a similar CD. Sources for parts, websites and additional information galore make this a must have item.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to get your hands charged for the first time, February 13, 2009

By 

Kuru (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking (Paperback)

This book is, apparently, compiled from course materials for what must be a very fun class. It mostly covers two broad topics. First, producing unexpected sounds from radios and the circuit boards in toys, and modifying those devices in simple ways, such as adding photoresistors or new circuit board connections. Second, building simple synthesizers from scratch. The skills taught are basic, and form the building blocks for infinite exploration. The tools and parts needed are all inexpensive (often costing mere pennies). The included CD is great fun, but best saved for later listening, since it contains "spoilers" of what some of the projects might sound like.

Because of the book's origination in a class situation, the explanations and pictures are not always ideally clear. There are a lot of typos. However, the writing is so engaging and the book is so much fun that it still deserves 5 stars. Where the book is incomplete ("how to I de-solder something?"), the Web is there.

The book is clearly aimed at musicians without any electronics experience. Nonmusicians might still enjoy it, but a joy in playing with sound is absolutely required. I suspect the book would be way too basic for people with any significant experience in electronics.

As sidebars, the book includes a considerable amount of history of electronic music -- who's who and what they've been up to.