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Contemporary Electronic Musical Thought And Practise Music Essay

发布时间:2017-04-05
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Discuss the impact of Pierre Schaeffer and Luigi Russolo on contemporary electronic musical thought and practise.

Luigi Russolo was a pioneer in the way we think about music today. In 1913 he published a manifesto on 'The Art of Noise', in which there were concepts and theoretical ideas that were extremely revolutionary for the time. Rejecting the classical instruments and orchestral composers, he suggested that traditional musical values be given up in favour of a completely new music experience using 'noise-sounds', causing outrage and provoking angry responses at the time. He composed for his new instruments - the Intonarumori, which went on to influence a new way of sound generation.

Pierre Schaeffer' contribution to today's music is considerable. From 1948 he worked manipulating audio and experimenting with the technology available at the time. He came up with a host of techniques, ideas and visionary concepts used heavily today, in electronic compositions, modern recording, and in modern musical thinking.

Luigi Russolo and Pierre Schaeffer shared an obsession of putting non-musical sounds in a musical context. This stemmed from their own philosophical thought. There were a number of radical concepts and theoretical ideas that they believed to be fundamental to their work, inevitably leading to pioneering research and discovery, along with strong social disapproval.

Russolo states that conventional 'Musical sound is too limited in its variety of timbres', 1 and that people should 'break out of this limited circle of sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise-sounds'. 2 He goes on to say that the evolution of music is tending towards the 'more dissonant, stranger, and harsher' sounds, where it 'comes ever closer to the noise-sound'. 3 In 1913, non instrumental sounds were not thought of as musical in any way. Russolo explored these sounds, listening to them in a way that he finds to 'produce pleasing sensations'. 4 He invites future composers to listen to everything in a different way, no matter what they are listening to, 5 getting them to think about non-musical sounds in terms of pitch, timbre, rhythm, and any other analytical aspects. In his analysis of sounds, Russolo devised a way of categorising noises, in terms of their characteristics. He called his system the '6 families of noises'. 6 These categories would help future composers to be able to specify timbre in their works, as Russolo says, allowing them to 'foster new ideas of music creativity'. 7

1 Russolo, L., The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 24.

2 ibid 1, 25.

3 ibid 1, 24.

4 ibid 1, 25.

5 ibid 1, 29.

6 ibid 1, 28.

7 Brown, B., 'Introduction', The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 17.

Pierre Schaeffer also analysed sounds and classified them in two ways, 'a set of 25 definitions… which might be applied (length, complexity, extracts, etc.)'7 He supported the idea of looking at sounds not only 'for its characteristics outside its normal time continuum', but also 'separated from its context'. 8 When 'sounds are severed from their causes', they 'become 'sound objects', which we listen to for their own sound qualities, just as we view abstract paintings without asking what they represent'. 9 He believed that 'sounds can acquire evocative, almost magical qualities if they are decontextualised by being removed from their casual origins'.10 Taking found sounds out of context follows Russolo's futurist ideas. His research into pitch in non-musical sounds, where he states that 'every noise has a pitch', that dominates 'its irregular vibrations'11, has become essential in the realisation of transposing these non-musical sounds in samplers. In introducing Russolo's first concert with his Intonarumori, his friend Marinetti describes the sounds to be heard to 'lose their episodic, accidental, and imitative character to achieve the abstract elements of art'.12 This reinforces Schaeffer's point about listening not to the individual noises within the music, pinpoint specific sources, but to it's overall abstract effect- the ear should strive for a sort of 'reduced listening', a search for a 'universal symphony'. 13

8 Snyder, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer, Inventor of Musique Concrete', 10 January 2007 http://csunix1.lvc.edu/

9 ibid 8

10 Dack, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer and the significance of radiophonic art', 1994 http://www.zainea.com/

11 Russolo, L., The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 27.

12 Brown, B., 'Introduction', The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 18.

13 Fielden, J., 'Schaeffer/Henry, Ussachevsky/Luening and Le Caine', Pioneers of Electronic Music - Early Works, 2000 http://www.jerryfielden.com/

14 ibid 12, 19.

15 Anon, 'Microtonal Music' http://dic.academic.ru/

16 Yelton, G., 'What's New', Electronic Musician, 1 September 2005 http://emusician.com/

Schaeffer's use of microtones14 has been shadowed by a huge number of electronic artists today, with 'bands from Sonic Youth to Art Rock Circus having written music with non-standard and microtonal tunings'.15 Even software synthesisers of today, like the LinPlug CronoX3 support microtonal tunings.16

The 1980s band 'The Art of Noise', led by producer Trevor Horn, was directly influenced by Russolo's futurist manifesto, 17 along with many of today's artists that are regularly quoted to Russolo's futurist ideas. This diverse group of artists includes DJ Spooky, Nurse With Wound and Mike Patton.18 This shows the diverse influence of Russolo on today's contemporary musical thought, justifying him as 'the first man to recognise how a world filled with noise was going to forever change the way you hear and, ultimately, the way you make music'.19

The extent of Luigi Russolo and Pierre Schaeffer's influence has been substantial in existing genres, but also their ideas and principles have gone on to form entirely new genres. From Machine music and Musique Concrète through to Glitch and Hip-Hop, aspects and fundamentals of these genres can be traced back to the work of Russolo and Schaeffer.

Russolo had a dream of bringing 'the victorious kingdom of electricity'20 into music. This prophecy has been entirely fulfilled, with many whole genres entirely electronic based.

17 Rotondi, J., 'Luigi Russolo' Magazine Articles, 1 November 2002 http://remixmag.com/

18 ibid 17

19 ibid 17

20 ibid 17

Schaeffer's sole use of sampled material in his Musique Concrète pieces has enabled musicians and scholars to see the potential in found sounds in a musical context. He took ordinary noises from everyday life and used his devices for processing them, 'slowing down, speeding up, retrogradation, reinforcing, attenuation, fragmentation, and the shifting of register'. 21 Schaeffer could get a multitude of diverse sounds from a simple sound effect with these processing techniques, along with reversing 22 the sounds. He could also manipulate these processed sounds, managing to move around, stick end to end - essentially using looping 23, intermingle - or juxtapose 24, and mix them up. 25 This gave rise to Schaeffer's brainchild, Musique Concrète, as Schaeffer states, these processes are 'the manufacturing procedures of concrete music'. 26 Musique Concrète has been so influential on musical practise from its creation, that today there are a multitude of genres and sub-genres, all said to have stemmed from Musique Concrète. These include Sound Collage, Glitch and Industrial.27 Industrial music can be traced back to the 'Machine Music' of the 1920s, which in itself is influenced by Luigi Russolo, said to have had a 'vital role' in this 'trend'.28 Sound Art, is said to be 'a genre in its own right, and the influence of Schaeffer can be heard in film scores and pop genres such as electronica'.29 This statement alone shows the broad scope of Schaeffer's influence into a whole variety of newer genres. Glitch music is based on the sounds of malfunctioning or misused equipment. In making these sounds, glitch 21 Palombini, C., 'Pierre Schaeffer, 1953: Towards an Experimental Music', Electronic Musicological Review, 3 October 1998 http://www.rem.ufpr.br/

22 Hannam, J., 'Pioneers of electronic music #4: Pierre Schaeffer', Beatportal, 5 November 2008 http://www.beatportal.com/

23 ibid 22

24 Dack, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer and the significance of radiophonic art', 1994 http://www.zainea.com/

25 ibid 21

26 ibid 21

27 Taylor, K. J., 'Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music', techno.org, October 2000 http://techno.org/

28 Brown, B., 'Introduction', The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 18.

29 Hewett, I., 'The night France tuned in to clank and clatter - and a new music was born', Telegraph, 20 November 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

musicians have to have a completely different approach to the equipment they are working with, than what the technology has been designed for. In working with machines in radio production, Schaeffer found that the electronic equipment, 'as if of their own accord, make something.' 'Let's say that accidents are creative'.30 Schaeffer finds the audible errors in his electronic equipment to be of musical use, which is the foundation for the glitch genre. His technical approach is now emulated in artists such as John Richards, and his concept of circuit bending, an extreme practise he calls 'Dirty Electronics' of taking a completely new technological approach of audio equipment and turning into music.31

30 Dack, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer and the significance of radiophonic art', 1994 http://www.zainea.com/

31 Richards, J., 'Dirty Electronics Manifesto', 2006 http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/

32 Deglise, F., 'Jean-Michel Jarre revisite Oxygène', Le Devoir, 11 January 2008 http://www.ledevoir.com/

33 Snyder, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer, Inventor of Musique Concrete', 10 January 2007 http://csunix1.lvc.edu/

34 ibid 33

Jean Michel Jarre says 'He invented the sound design, sampling, réverbéromètre. All current processes were invented by Schaeffer in 40 years'32. The recording processes and techniques Pierre Schaeffer pioneered have become essential in today's recording industry. In his early experiments, he 'intermingled' sounds, layering them up and he 'juxtaposed' sounds, putting them back to back. The exploration of many of Schaeffer's new techniques on the turntable has led to fundamental principles of yet more genres. Schaeffer played existing records at different speeds, noticing not only the difference in 'pitch and duration, but also the amplitude envelopes of the sounds'. 33 He also pioneered groove locking - a way of looping a sound, or part of a sound. 34 Trip Hop and Downbeat are based on looping a part of a sampled track at a much lower tempo. Schaeffer's experimenting in the locked groove and the change of envelopes and pitch upon changing the tempo of turntables are essential aspects of this genre's sound. This can be heard in tracks by Moby, Portishead and Royksopp35. These technological aspects can also be heard in the wider genre - Hip-Hop. Here, Schaeffer's telltale 'cut n' paste legacy'36 is prevalent. DJ Faust is described as being 'a turntablist with an incredible dense style of cut-and-paste mixing that leaves little room for pause and entertains shades of original musique concrète producers like Pierre Schaeffer'37. This cut and paste methodology of Schaeffer's has said to have had 'a tangible influence in releases by The KLF, Can and even The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper'.'38 As well as the turntable, Schaeffer's method of removing the attack of bell-like sounds has gone on to influence Jonty Harrison. His Klang is a sonic exploration entirely dependent on removing the attacks off the sounds of a casserole dish being hit. The piece has been described as being 'shades of Schaeffer'.39

Not only did Luigi Russolo and Pierre Schaeffer build revolutionary new instruments and equipment that could physically reinforce their existing theories and concepts, but they also used existing musical resources with a completely different technological approach.

35 Taylor, K. J., 'Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music', techno.org, October 2000 http://techno.org/

36 Hannam, J., 'Pioneers of electronic music #4: Pierre Schaeffer', Beatportal, 5 November 2008 http://www.beatportal.com/

37 Bogdanov, V., Woodstra, C., Erlewine, S. T., Bush, J., 'All Music Guide to Hip-hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop', 2003 http://book.google.co.uk/

38 ibid 36

39 Djll, T., 'Transparent Tape Music Festival 2' Review, 18 August 2002 http://www.sfsound.org/

After publishing his manifesto, Russolo went on to utilise his ideas in his own works, therefore physically justifying his radical theories and showing existing composers what they could explore. He set about composing for his revolutionary new instruments, the Intonarumori, or 'Noise-instruments'. These were essentially the first musical synthesisers. They were large wooden boxes, with intricate mechanisms inside, to create a wide variety of sounds not immediately pleasing to the musical ear. There were 12 noise instruments, each with a specific timbre; howling, roaring, whistling, crackling, rubbery, gurgling, rustling, hissing, croaking - like the noise of frogs, and 2 'bursters', one of which sounds like 'an early automobile engine'. 40 Due to the recording technology of the age being primitive, and little available, Russolo's instruments were the only means to implement his ideas of noise sounds in compositions. One of Russolo's major contributions to today's electronic practise is the concept of noise generation in his Intonarumori. Synthesis is such a major part of today's music that its origins are often overlooked, but it was Russolo's synthesising instruments that were revolutionary in being the first real instruments to emulate an existing sound.41

40 Brown, B., 'Introduction', The Art Of Noises, (New York, 1986), 12.

41 Rotondi, J., 'Luigi Russolo' Magazine Articles, 1 November 2002 http://remixmag.com/

42 ibid 40, 18.

43 ibid 40, 20.

Russolo's instruments were so new and interesting, that composers of the day started using them in their works. Francesco Balilla Pratella's 1915 opera, L'Aviatore Dro 'used Russolo's burster to depict the noise of an aeroplane engine'42, and Joseph-Maurice Ravel composed a 'chorus of frogs' section in his opera, L'Enfant et les sortilèges, as a 'direct result of hearing Russolo's croaker.'43

Schaeffer's work following on from Russolo's Intonarumori synthesis instruments has seen the creation of his own instruments, allowing for the continuation of instrument making, leading to today's electronic synthesisers and samplers. His 'Phonogène' could play a pre-recorded loop on tape at a pitch defined by the user on a one octave keyboard. This design was then adapted in the 'Slide Phonogène', which used a smooth non-chromatic transition between pitches. 44 His Phonogène is said to have been 'less than successful', because it 'imposed structures on the sounds before their inherent characteristics had been examined'.45 This led on to the invention of the Mellotron, an instrument following the same principles, but able to change individual aspects of the sound. The Mellotron also 'fulfilled his prophecy' that 'an instrument could be created that would provide the sounds of an orchestral instrument by means of a bank of prerecorded events.'46 This prediction can be applied to any sampler of today.

44 Palombini, C., 'Pierre Schaeffer, 1953: Towards an Experimental Music', Electronic Musicological Review, 3 October 1998 http://www.rem.ufpr.br/

45 Dack, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer and the significance of radiophonic art', 1994 http://www.zainea.com/

46 Snyder, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer, Inventor of Musique Concrete', 10 January 2007 http://csunix1.lvc.edu/

47 Manning, P., Electronic and Computer Music, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 1993), 27.

48 Fielden, J., 'Schaeffer/Henry, Ussachevsky/Luening and Le Caine', Pioneers of Electronic Music - Early Works, 2000 http://www.jerryfielden.com/

In 1951, the introduction of a tape recorder in Schaeffer's studio enabled him to devise a tape-head echo system, with 12 tape heads, called a Morphophone. 47 Also in 1951, he collaborated with Jacques Poullin to create a new instrument, much like Russolo did, that could emulate some of his discoveries. Schaeffer and Poullin's other inventions include the 3 track tape recorder, that could be used on their new spatialisation desk. 48 Schaeffer also created a revolutionary controllable surround sound system, using 5 separate tracks. There are 2 speakers left and right respectively, one speaker directly behind the listener, and one speaker suspended from the ceiling, allowing for vertical sound placement. The 5th track allows the performer to place the sound between any of the speakers.49

The impact of Russolo and Shaeffer on musical practise today is shown in the huge variety of found sounds used within contemporary compositions. Their revolutionary writings reinforcing their obsession in non-musical sounds being used outside a traditional musical context have greatly influenced modern day thinking. Their philosophical ideas have become almost common practise in the practical works of contemporary musicians. Their creation of genres has led to the development of many more since, with their principles being fundamental to a variety of these recent genres. Their technological approach on new equipment, both in instrument creation and in existing technology has made Russolo and Schaeffer highly influential on today's music industry, in the way artists make their sounds, record their sound, and think about their sound. In short, Russolo and Schaeffer have both made a considerable impact upon contemporary musical thought and practise, and have been essential in making electronic music what it is today.

49 Snyder, J., 'Pierre Schaeffer, Inventor of Musique Concrete', 10 January 2007 http://csunix1.lvc.edu/

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