An example of a piece created using only the technique of field recording:
Ernst-Reuter-Platz – by Evelyn Saylor
- choices are: when to press “record”, where to go, in which direction to face, when to press “stop”. No additional processing.
- See: “Soundscape composition”. Context-based compositions using recognizable sounds, allowing listeners to tap into their lived experiences and the audience’s collective memory.
An example of a sound created using only the technique of studio recording:
Electric Toothbrush on bowl – Evelyn Saylor
- get to know the instrument and play it. Experiment with how you set up the recording. No additional processing.
- Another example of a sound created using only studio recording, specifically close recording of a very quiet sound to amplify it and change its effect:
Bottle Rocking on Piano Strings – Evelyn Saylor
An example of a piece (a study!) created using only cut up and looped recordings (not even any layering):
“Etude aux chemins de fer” – Pierre Schaeffer (1948)
– (also an example of a piece from the “Musique concrète” school)
An example of a piece (a study!) created using only synthesized sounds:
“Studie II” – Karlheinz Stockhausen (1954)
– (also an example of a piece from the “Elektronische Musik” school)
Electronic Music was also being made in other parts of the world. Halim El-Dabh, for instance, created a proto-Musique Concrète piece before Pierre Schaeffer in 1944:
And in London, Daphne Oram founded the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where Delia Derbyshire also worked. They used a combination of the Musique Concrète and Elektronische Musik techniques:
Daphne Oram – Rhythmic Variations II (1962):
Delia Derbyshire – Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO (1967):
Additional Resources:
An (Incomplete) Electronic Music History Timeline – Evelyn Saylor
Lecture by Lieven Bertels “The History of Early Electronic Music and its Links to Today’s Electronic Music”:
Evelyn Saylor 