Electroacoustic Techniques

Examples from the CEC’s internet “Jukebox” SONUS are listed below under a number of headings. Each heading is a particular type of technique, process or method in electroacoustic composition. Click on the titles to bring up the pieces from SONUS. Programme notes and composer biographies are available at these links.

A further list indicates some of the “classic” examples of these techniques, and/or examples which are relatively easily available on commercial CDs.
Educators will find these particularly useful in classroom situations!

Works Available in SONUS | Works Available Commercially | Contributors | Contribute a new entry

Works Available in SONUS

Acousmatic — See Musique Concrète: “Acousmatic” Techniques

Additive Synthesis

Analog Modular Synthesis, General

Kevin Austin — Static Gestures II (Formant Pulses) (1987)
On PRESENCE (1997). Algorithmic piece created on an EMS Synthi 100 (analog) modular synthesizer.

jef chippewa — DUO (1997–98)
On PRESENCE II (2000) and Cache 2000 (2000). Use of similar sonic and gestural materials generated by analogue synthesis (Aries Modular Synth at Concordia University) and alto sax.

Hugh Le Caine — Safari: Eine Kleine Klangfarbenmelodie (1964)
On Compositions Demonstrations 1946–1974. “Generated by the Sonde… this piece demonstrates timbral and melodic results of changes in clouds of sine tones.”

Circuit Bending

Martin John Callanan & David James Callanan — 030307 Audio (2002)
A 53-minute compilation of audio experiments recorded live in late 2002. Electronic syth units where rewired/hotwired while being played. This process inevitably resulted in the irretrievable “death” of the unit. These recordings chart the death process — each session becoming more awkward as the unit’s components decayed.

Collage(1)

Collage(2)

Digital trash or computer data used as sound materials

jef chippewa & João Miguel Pais — breathe (2003).
The continuous background is an excerpt of the MacOS9 system file read by SoundHack.

Exploration of the object

Frank Koustrup — Guitar Studies (1–6) (1992)
“Prepared” classical guitar with traditional musique concrète processing.

Frank Koustrup — Feedback Study (1993)
Exploration of non-acoustic, non-synthesized source sounds: ground loops, feedback loops. Processes: gating, filtering, distortion, speed changes, layering.

Frank Koustrup, Kevin Curtis-Norcross — Unfinished Parking Garage (2005)
Sonic exploration of a reverberant space.

FM Synthesis

Kevin Austin — DX-tures 1–12 (1985)
Composed in the composer's home studio, the series, DX-tures, are studies in texture and gesture based upon DX-7 improvisations.

Antonio Russek — Nextalgia (1993)
Short piece composed with FM techniques on Next computers at CCRMA Standford Univerity.

Antonio Russek — Time is Money (1997)
Realized on a Yamaha SY99, last FM instrument built by Yamaha as the top last member of the the well known DX dynasty.

Granular Synthesis (see also Time Stretching)

Chin-Chin Chen — Waft Through an Open Door (2002)

Martín Alejandro Fumarola — SC (1999-2000)
On DISContact! III.

Maggi Payne — System Test (fire and ice) (2001)
Layered granular synthesis of Jacob’s ladder recordings; GS and convolved 03:35–4:07; GS 6:50–7:22.

Installation

MIDI-stration

Mixed

Monophonic

Multi-channel

Antonio Russek — Babel de Nuevo (1998)
Electroacoustic work realized at composer’s studio, to be performed on eight channel PA sound system.

Musique Concrète: “Acousmatic” Techniques

Antonio Russek — Viernes Santo (1997)
Piece constructed with flute samples processed on K2000 Kurzweil engine, and GRM Tools plugins.

Musique Concrète: “Traditional” Techniques

Jan Jarvlepp — Buoyancy (1977)
On PRESENCE. Acoustic cello sounds subjected to speed variation, echo, filtering etc. White noise was generated from amplified bow noise.

Frank Koustrup — Woodstock to Detroit (1994)
On DISContact II. Source sounds: sheets of metal shelving, lead-out groove. Processes: speed changes, direction changes, layering, filtering.

Antonio Russek — Concretando (1993)
Short piece composed at CCRMA Standford University.

Naive

Phillip Grant, Frank Koustrup, Kevin Curtis-Norcross — Monkees (2005)
Naive in the sense of being out of one's depth: having the gift of two hours of broadcast time but preparation for only about 40-minutes of material, the Invisible PAIN Field Generator ran out of ideas.

Regeneration (also known as Resonation)

Jeff Cloke — Alone 25Apr04 (2004)
Live. Voice in reverberant space. Simple delay of around 1 minute. Voice gradually articulates the resonant frequencies of the room, which build up to create the harmony of the room itself.

Jeff Cloke — Hornsey Pumphouse (2004)
Live. Longer example of the above technique (Alone 25Apr04).

Ring Modulation

Frank Koustrup — Dancing on Hot Coals (2005)
Main processing is distortion, flanging, filtering, octave shifts. Ring modulation used as ear candy that fades in and out, and moves across the stereo field. Most apparent near the end during sustained feedback.

Risset Tones (aka... Shepard Tones)

Soundscape (collage)

Frank Koustrup — Night Shift (2005)
Trains, hockey games, orders for fast food, factories, dogs, radios, trucks — a day in a working life.

Frank Koustrup — Train Train Tugboat Train (1994)
Exactly as the title says.

Soundscape (narrative)

Frank Koustrup — Terror Alert Orange (2003)
More a verbatim recording of a time, place, and mood than a narrative. Minimal processing: editing to extract an event, filtering to reduce wind noise, minor dynamic-compression.

Frank Koustrup — Steveston Fish Market (2004)
Another verbatim recording of a time and place.

Subtractive Synthesis

Time stretching

Frank Koustrup — Frostie (1992)
On DISContact I. Derived from a short recording of a voice. Base process: time stretching. Other processes: layering, distortion, gating, stereo panning.

Frank Koustrup — Pont Victoria (1995)
Source sounds: cars and train crossing Victoria Bridge. Base process: time stretching. Other processes: speed changes, filtering, layering without multitracking (sound-on-sound dubs between tape recorders).

Variation form

Risto Holopainen — In Vitro (2001)
This piece consists of a series of variations over a seven chord sequence in extended just intonation. The chords are:
(1/5, 1/3, 1/2, 4/7),
(6/7, 3/4, 3/5),
(5/6, 5/7, 5/9, 8/11),
(5/4, 3/4, 1/2, 5/6),
(3/5, 7/10, 9/10, 11/16),
(5/8, 3/4, 1/1, 5/7),
(3/2, 1/1, 3/4, 11/16).

WORKS AVAILABLE COMMERCIALLY

Acousmatic — See Musique Concrète: “Acousmatic” Techniques

Additive Synthesis

Frank Rothkamm — Astronaut of Inner Space (2003–2006)
From FB02.

Analog Modular Synthesis, General

Maggi Payne — Crystal (1982)
On Crystal CD (1991). Moog IIIP modular analog synthesizer with multi-tracking, in quad and stereo versions, video.

Circuit Bending

Collage(1)

Collage(2)

Digital trash or computer data used as sound materials

Christopher Koenigsberg — The Rat’s Nest (1993)
On Brains (1994). Swapfiles of the Mach operating system on a NeXT cube left in the buffer were scavenged by Koenigsberg and given new life.

Exploration of the object

FM Synthesis

Frank Rothkamm — Atmospheric Composition
From FB01 (2002–2005).

Granular Synthesis (see also TIme Stretching)

Barry Truax — Riverrun (1986)
On Digital Soundscapes.

Maggi Payne — breaks/motors (2001)
On Oasis, Music From Mills 2001 CD (2001). Tiny stepper motor is sound source; example is followed at 03:23 with a resonant, but unprocessed stepper motor for reference. 02:56–03:23.

Installation

MIDI-stration

Wendy Carlos — Switched-on Bach

Mixed

Monophonic

Multi-channel

Musique Concrète: “Traditional” Techniques

Maggi Payne — Airwaves (realities) (1987)
On Another Coast CD (1988). Car interior and cars passing on highway recorded from overpass, increasingly layered; jet fly-overs. 00:00–00:2:36; 00:610–6:58.

Musique Concrète: “Acousmatic” Techniques

Maggi Payne — Resonant Places (1992)
On Music from the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM) at Mills College CD (1994). Natural sounds in naturally resonant spaces. Beginning uses highly resonant filters (chair rolling in circle on oak floor). 00:00–02:00.

Maggi Payne — White Night (1984)
On Crystal CD (1991). Looped voice fragments, some manipulated with digital delay, extensively layered, in quad and stereo versions.

Naive

Regeneration

Alvin Lucier — I am sitting in a room

Ring Modulation

Karlheinz Stockhausen — Mantra (1970)
On Stockhausen CD 16 MANTRA for two pianists. Two pianists dose the acoustic sound with varying degrees of Ring Modulation.

Karlheinz Stockhausen — Mikrophonie II (1965)
On Stockhausen CD 9 MIKROPHONIE (etc.).

Risset Tones (aka... Shepard Tones)

Jean-Claude Risset — Modulations

Karlheinz Stockhausen — Hymnen (1966–7)
On Stockhausen CD 10 HYMNEN Electronic and Concrete Music. 4th Region.

Soundscape (collage)

Soundscape (narrative)

Luc Ferrari — Presque Rien I

Subtractive Synthesis

Time Stretching

Contributors

Kevin Austin
jef chippewa
Jeff Cloke
Frank Koustrup
Antonio Russek

Contribute a New Entry

If you wish to add an entry to the list, contact jef chippewa. Use the following format, and provide all information for each piece. If the composition is an excellent example of more than one technique, list the composition under each appropriate heading.
Composer — Composition (Year)
On CDTitle (Year). Brief (10–20 words max!) description of how the technique was used. 1–3 regions where the technique is clearly evident, formatted as 00:00-00:00; 00:00-00:00.