Teaching Electronic Music
Bob Gluck, September 2001

Teaching philosophy:

Electronic music is a remarkable vehicle to open the ears of students to the boundless qualities of the sounds around us, and to exemplify the many avenues of musical expressivity. The acts of listening and composing can be means of learning about self and world - and the very nature of electronic music implies that all sounds can be musical, meaningful, and fascinating. My courses balance theory, history, and practical skills with assignments that teach sensitive listening and self-awareness. The context for the course is the historical experimental tradition and its conceptual framework.

Assignments

Students devote equal amounts of time to studio work, engagement in listening, reading, writing, and discussion. I require all students to keep listening journals, in which they learn to objectively describe what they hear, and reflect upon what they experience while listening. Readings about meditation and listening have helped students take a leap and expand their musical horizons and tastes, appreciating the musical qualities of unfamiliar sounds and musical approaches. Students also listen to significant works that exemplify historical and compositional trends in the experimental tradition.

In the studio, students learn how to work with audio editors and processors, digital audio / MIDI sequencing applications, and interactive software (Max). All sound material is self-recorded in sound environments of each student's choosing (sampling the work of others is not permitted), and the fruits of their field work are used to create two audio compositions: a soundscape composition and a an abstract work in the tradition of musique concrète. Every assignment is played in class, and discussed critically (albeit in positive terms: "what did you think worked well in this piece", and "where would you work further if you had three more hours available"? The student composer speaks first, followed by others). The latter part of the course is devoted to interactivity, and studio work culminates in a two-minute live in-class Max performance.

Materials

Historical background:

Joel Chadabe. Electric Sound: The Past and Present of Electronic Music (Saddle River NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997).

Elliott Schwartz and Daniel Godfrey. Music Since 1945: Issues, Materials, and Literature (New York NY: G. Schirmer, 1993).

These books are supplemented with an extensive packet of articles about technological developments and terminology, basic acoustics, and the social/cultural context (including evolving aesthetics, the role of gender, and other issues) within which these have unfolded.

On listening and meditation:

Bruce Adolphe. What To Listen For In The World (New York: Limelight Editions, 1996).

J. Krishnamurti. Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti (New York: Harper Collins, 1996).

Krishnamurti examines the way that memory and learned assumptions act as perceptual filters, coloring our ability to listen and act freshly in the present.

Composition seminar

The goal of the second course in the electronic music sequence (which may be repeated), is to expand students' creative vision and expressive possibilities as composers of electronic music. Each three hour weekly session consists of listening to and discussing ongoing student work. Relevant technical and aesthetic issues become the subject of lectures, outside readings, in-class listening, and further discussion. One-hour of class is devoted to a Max / MSP seminar. Students compose one or two extended works in fixed media, or develop a live Max / MSP performance work. Compositional options include an abstract composition based entirely upon one 2 - 5 second recording, a soundscape composition, or a sound commentary upon an existing piece of music.

Successes and challenges

Gaining student interest and openness to new and unfamiliar forms of music requires sustained effort. I have found that teaching sensitive listening skills, balanced with enjoyable studio experiences, help students explore this unfamiliar tradition. The key ingredient is respect for student opinions, and a willingness to listen to their ideas.

Weekly Course outline for Introduction to Electronic Music

Week 1
Course introduction & Introduction to the music of all sounds

Week 2
Sound environments & Soundscapes, including a listening walk

Week 3
Sensitive listening and self-reflection as compositional skills
Intro to Acoustics, Digital Audio, and sound editing

Week 4
Sounds and ideologies of the industrial age enter music: Futurists, Antheil, Varese ...
Origins of Electronic Music: Musique Concrete, Elektronische musik, John Cage

Week 5
Digital Signal Processing

Week 6
Synthesis: Analog and Digital
Performances of Musique Concrete compositions

Week 7
Hi-tech, lo-tech & homemade circuitry: Tudor, Behrman, Peebles ...
Interactivity and Max

Week 8
Intro to MIDI & more about Max
Construction of studio recordings: Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

Week 9
Hands on work with Max

Week 10
Gender issues
More hands on work with Max

Week 11
Sampling: compositional, aesthetic and practical issues
Composing with Max

Week 12
Composing with Max

Week 13
Performance of soundscape compositions
omposing with Max

Week 14
Max performances

[Electronic Music syllabi]
[Return to music teaching page]
[return to home page]