Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century - by Hans-Joachim Braun (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Technology has always been inseparable from the development of music. But in the twentieth century a rapid acceleration took place: a new "machine music" came into existence, electronic musical instruments appeared, and composers sometimes seemed more like sound technicians than musicians. In this book Hans-Joachim Braun and his co-authors offer a wide-ranging and fascinating look at the relationship of technology and modern music. Topics range from the role of Yamaha in Japan's musical development to the social construction of the synthesizer; from the player piano as precursor of computer music to the musical role of airplanes and locomotives; from the growth of one independent recording studio (from "Polka to Punk") to the origins of the 45-RPM record. Other chapters consider violin vibrato and the phonograph, Jimi Hendrix, and the aesthetic challenge of soundsampling. The book concludes with a look at the current situation, and perspectives for its future in electronic music.

Contributors: Barbara Barthelmes, Karin Bijsterveld, Hans-Joachim Braun, Martha Brech, Hugh Davies, Bernd Enders, Geoffrey Hindley, Jüergen Hocker, Mark Katz, Tatsuya Kobayashi, James P. Kraft, Alexander B. Magoun, Rebecca McSwain, Andre Millard, Helga de la Motte-Haber, Trevor Pinch, Susan Schmidt-Horning, and Frank Trocco.

Review Quotes

A surprisingly good read, with a depth and coherence . . . Pays attention to both sound production and sound recording, as well as economic and social factors that have shaped the 20th century music industry . . . This is a very strong collection written by leading researchers in the field.

An eclectic exploration of the relationship between electronics and music . . . The book covers fascinating and unusual ground, invoking artists as diverse as Orpheus and Guitar Slim to Fritz Kreisler, Conlon Nancarrow, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

This much-needed collection of critical essays addresses sound art from many new and interesting perspectives . . . Braun did a nice job of bringing together these 17 very strong and personal voices, which in the end make for good, thought-provoking reading.

About the Author

Hans-Joachim Braun is a professor of modern social, economic, and technological history at the Universität der Bundeswehr in Hamburg, Germany.