User:OnBeyondZebrax/sandbox/Electronic music

In 1907 Ferruccio Busoni discussed the use of electrical and other new sound sources in future music. Italian Futurists explored "noise," and sounds that had previously not been considered musical. During the 1920s to 1930s, many early electronic instruments were introduced and the first compositions for electronic instruments were composed. In the 1940s magnetic audio tape allowed musicians to tape sound and then modify them by changing the tape speed or direction. This led to the development of electroacoustic tape music. The musique concrète style was based on editing together recorded fragments of natural and industrial sounds. In Germany in 1953, Elektronische Musik was produced in a new electronic music studio. Japanese electronic music developed after the end of World War II with explorations of how electronic technology could be used to produce music.

In the United States, electronic music was created in the 1950s by John Cage. An important new development was the advent of computers for the purpose of composing music. Iannis Xenakis began what is called musique stochastique, or stochastic music, which is a composing method that uses mathematical probability systems. In 1954, Stockhausen composed his Elektronische Studie II—the first electronic piece to be published as a score. The impact of computers continued in 1956. Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson composed Illiac Suite for string quartet, the first complete work of computer-assisted composition using algorithmic composition. CSIRAC, the first computer to play music, did so publicly in August 1951 (reference 12).

In America, live electronics were pioneered in the early 1960s by members of Milton Cohen's Space Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the 1970s to early 1980s, the Mini-Moog was among the first widely available, portable and relatively affordable synthesizers. It became the most widely used synthesizer in both popular and electronic art music.

In 1980, a group of musicians and music merchants developed the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), which made powerful control of sophisticated instruments easily affordable by many studios and individuals. In 1980, Yamaha eventually released the first FM digital synthesizer, the Yamaha GS-1, but at an expensive price. In 1983, Yamaha introduced the first stand-alone digital synthesizer, the DX-7, which also used FM synthesis and would become one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time. The DX-7 was known for its recognizable bright tonalities that was partly due to an overachieving sampling rate of 57 kHz.

In the last decade, a number of software-based virtual studio environments have emerged, with products such as Propellerhead's Reason and Ableton Live finding popular appeal. Another trend is circuit bending, the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as low voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children's toys and small digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators.