Electronic Music and Musique Concrete – What’s the Difference?
Contents
If you’re a fan of electronic music, you might be wondering what the difference is between it and musique concrete. Here’s a quick rundown of the key differences between these two genres.
Introduction
Musique Concrete is a type of electronic music that uses recorded sounds as its source material. The sounds are then manipulated using various techniques, such as splicing, looping, and filtering. This results in a piece of music that is often experimental in nature.
Electronic music, on the other hand, is a type of music that is made using electronic musical instruments. These can include synthesizers, drum machines, and computers. The resulting sound is often very different from traditional acoustic instruments.
What is electronic music?
Electronic music is a genre of music that is produced using electronic musical instruments or electronic music technology. It is a broad term that covers a wide range of music from pop and rock to hip hop and EDM. Musique concrete is a type of electronic music that is made by manipulating recorded sounds.
Definition
At its most basic level, electronic music is music made with the help of electronic devices. In the early days of electronic music, composers used devices such as theremins and tone generators to create new sounds that had never been heard before. With the advent of more sophisticated technology, composers were eventually able to create entire pieces of music using nothing but electronic devices. Today, electronic music has evolved into a major genre in its own right, with subgenres that range from danceable club music to complex avant-garde soundscapes.
Characteristics
Four on the floor is a rhythm in house music. It describes a beating pattern of kick drums on beats one, two three and four of a 4/4 measure. The name four on the floor comes from its steady, driving pulse with bass drum hits occurring every four beats in equal measure. It’s often associated with disco and electronic dance music (EDM) as it creates a hypnotic and danceable feeling.
While four on the floor is certainly not the only rhythm found in electronic music, it’s one of the most common and easily recognized. Other popular rhythms include breakbeats (think: drum ‘n’ bass or jungle), trance (a forward-moving, repetitive style characterized by arpeggiated synth lines), and dubstep (a half-time feel with wobbly basslines).
Examples
Now that you know the two main types of electronic music, let’s explore some examples to give you a better idea of what each one sounds like.
Musique Concrete:
-Pierre Schaeffer – Etude Aux Chemins de Fer
-Luc Ferrari – Presque Rien No. 1
-Morton Subotnick – Silver Apples of the Moon
Electronic Music:
-Wendy Carlos – A Clockwork Orange Soundtrack
-Kraftwerk – The Robots
-Vangelis – Blade Runner Soundtrack
What is musique concrete?
Musique concrete is a type of music that uses recorded sounds as its primary source material. This can be anything from field recordings of natural sounds to found objects being struck together. It is often considered to be a type of experimental music. Electronic music, on the other hand, is music that is produced using electronic instruments and equipment.
Definition
Musique concrete is a type of experimental music that uses recorded sounds as its primary source material. The term was coined by French composer Pierre Schaeffer in 1948, and it has been used by composers working in various styles ever since.
The sounds used in musique concrete can be from any source, including the human voice, natural sounds such as thunder or bird calls, or man-made noises like car horns or factory machinery. Composers may manipulate the recorded sounds in a number of ways, such as speeding them up or slowing them down, playing them backwards, or looping them.
Musique concrete is often contrasted with electronic music, which is created using electronic instruments or computers. While the two genres share some similarities, musique concrete is generally more concerned with the sonic properties of the recorded sounds themselves, while electronic music is more focused on the pitches and rhythms generated by the electronic instruments.
Characteristics
Musique concrete is a type of electronic music that uses recorded sounds as its main source material. These sounds can be found in the real world or created using synthesizers and other electronic instruments. Musique concrete is often made by splicing together small sections of recorded sound, called loops, to create larger pieces of music.
Musique concrete is different from other types of electronic music because it focuses on the sonic qualities of the sounds themselves, rather than using them as simply a means to create rhythm or melody. This means that musique concrete pieces can be very abstract, and sometimes even seem random. Nevertheless, they can be incredibly beautiful and moving.
Examples
Musique concrète is an interesting form of experimental music that emerged in the 1940s. The music is created by manipulating recorded sounds, often using techniques such as editing, looping, and layering. These recorded sounds can be sourced from anywhere, including household objects, nature sounds, or even the human voice.
One of the earliest and most famous examples of musique concrète is Pierre Schaeffer’s “À la recherche d’une musique concrète” (1948). In this piece, Schaeffer manipulate recordings of various sounds, including a steam engine, a slamming door, and a piano. He also created some of the earliest sound effects by manipulating recordings of things like Coca-Cola bottles being opened and glasses being clinked together.
Other notable early examples of musique concrète include Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Gesang der Jünglinge” (1955), Luc Ferrari’s “Presque rien no. 1” (1960), and François Bayle’s “Thundershock” (1972).
Today, musique concrète is still practiced by composers and sound artists all over the world. It has also influenced many other genres of music, including electronic music, hip hop, ambient music, and noise music.
Differences between electronic music and musique concrete
Musique concrete is a form of music that uses recorded and often processed natural sounds as its source material, while electronic music is music that is produced using electronic instruments and equipment. Both genres can make use of found sounds and recorded sounds, but electronic music is more likely to use processed or manipulated sounds, while musique concrete is more likely to use raw, unprocessed sounds.
In terms of composition
In terms of composition, electronic music generally relies on the composer’s use of various electronic devices to create sounds, whereas musique concrete relies on the composer’s use of pre-recorded sounds.
Electronics can be used to create a wide range of sounds, from simple beeps and blips to more complex tones and textures. This gives electronic music a great deal of sonic flexibility. In contrast, musique concrete is somewhat limited by the sounds that are available for the composer to work with. However, this limitation can also be seen as an advantage, as it forces the composer to be more creative in their sound selection and usage.
Another key difference between these two types of music is that electronic music is often designed to be played back on a loudspeaker system, whereas musique concrete is often designed to be played back on a more limited sound system (such as a home stereo or portable headphones). This difference is due to the fact that loudspeakers are capable of reproducing a wider range of frequencies than most other types of sound playback systems.
In terms of sound
The biggest difference between electronic music and musique concrete is the types of sounds that are used. Electronic music relies heavily on synthesizers, samplers, and other electronic devices to create its sounds, while musique concrete relies on recorded sounds from the world around us. This gives each type of music a very different sound.
Musique concrete is often very experimental and avant-garde, while electronic music can be anything from danceable to ambient. Musique concrete often has a raw, unfinished quality to its sound, while electronic music can be very polished and produced.
Conclusion
Overall, electronic music and musique concrete differ primarily in their approach to music composition. Electronic music relies heavily on technology to create its sounds, while musique concrete relies on recorded sounds from the natural world. Both genres have been hugely influential in the development of modern music, and both continue to evolve today.
