An Introduction to Electronic Music

Intro...

       Welcome to my few pages dedicated to electronic music, otherwise known as techno. First of all, before we go any 
further, let me clarify what electronic music is. Electronic music is music that is made with... hmmmm....electronics. 
These include drum machines, synthesizers, computers, or anything elese that can produce music, be digitally manipulated, 
and recorded. Many people classify this kind of music as techno when techno is actually a genre of electronic music (more 
on that later). If you like electronic, good for you. I do too. If you don't the purpose of this site is to educate you 
about what electronic music is and how it came to be.

History...

It started a long time ago, in the 1860's. Electronic music can be traced back to the audio analytical work of

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz the German physicist, mathematician and author. Helmholtz built an electronically

controlled instrument to analyze combinations of tones the "Helmholtz Resonator", using electromagnetically vibrating metal

tines and glass or metal resonating spheres the machine could be used for analyzing the tones that create complex natural

sounds. He was concerned with the scientific analysis of sound and had no interest in direct musical applications.

The first electronic instruments were built from 1870 to 1915 and used a variety of techniques to generate sound.

The tone wheel used a rotating metal disk in a magnetic field causing variations in an electrical signal and electronic

sparks caused direct fluctuations in the air.

Then, in 1906, Lee De Forest patented the first Vacuum tube or triode. The Vacuum tube's main use was in radio

technology but De Forest discovered that it was possible to produce audible sounds from the tubes. In 1915 De Forest created

a musical instrument, the "Audion Piano”. The Vacuum tube was to remain the primary type of audio synthesis until the

invention of the integrated circuit in the 1960's. Integrated Circuits were inspired by the writings of the German's Harald Bode, Robert Moog, and Donald Buchla. The integrated circuits created a new generation of easy to use and reliable electronic instruments.

<--- Moog's Integrated Circuit Synthesizer

The current types of electronic instruments started with the digital synthesizers of the 1980s. These synthesizers
were software controlled offering control over various forms of synthesis previously only available on extremely expensive
studio synthesizers. Early models included the Yamaha DX range and the Casio CZ synthesizers. In 1971, the first portable
pre-wired synthesizer was invented. It was not necessary to plug in modules to get a sound, but it had no memory.
In 1975, the Oberhiem Sem enabled a musician to play 2, 4, 6 or 8 notes at the same time, depending on the models.
One synthesizer was necessary for each note and was connected through the Expander Module. At this time the first machines
with memories emerged, but each module could only store a couple of parameters.
Then, in 1978 the first fully programmable, polyphonic synthesizers were produced. These devices were capable of
producing 5 tones at once and had 32 memory slots to record synthesizer parameters for using during performances. In 1982,
the bass synthesizer came about because of the gaining popularity of Electronic Music. The Roland - TB 303 helped to produce
new sounds for a new era in music. Also in 1982 then first MIDI synthesizer was released. These synthesizers were the first
to combine digital wave shapes which are essentially basic sounds with subtractive analog synthesis treatments. The
ancestors of the samples used in the original synthesizers could be transformed to produce an infinite array of sounds.
In 1995 editing electronic music became much easier. The Nord Lead keyboard marked the return of subtractive
synthesis. The process is like the analogical synthesizers but digitally modelized. This keyboard provided the return of the
front buttons which was long awaited by a new generation of musicians. In 2000, the Storm Music Studio offered software
synthesis at its best and provided a wide variety of instruments. Today there are several different computer programs that
can create and record electronic music. You can connect and instrument imaginable to a computer, record a sound, alter it,
and then edit it to fit a track. The possibilities of electronic music are endless.

Genres...

There are many different kinds of styles of electronic music. Many people classify electronic music as “techno,”
when in fact techno is just one genre of many different genres of electronic music. Other genres of electronic music
include: Acid, Acid Jazz, Ambient, Club, Dark Rave, Dark Trance, Dub, Ambient, Club, Dark Rave, Dark Trance, Dub, Detroit,
Dolphin, Down tempo, Electro, Euro-dance, Euro-rave, Gabber(gabba), Garage, Goa Trance,Happy Hardcore, Hardcore, Handbag
House, Handbag, Jungle, Hardbag, Hardstepper, Hard Trance, House, Jungle, Minimal, Nu-Energy, Progressive House, Punkcore,
Rave, RaveCore, Speed Garage, Techstep, Trance, Tribal, and Trip Hop.

Click here to learn about two of my favorite electronic music artists, underworld and rabbit in the moon.