Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century

<p>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.</p><p>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.</p>