Product Description

This updated and expanded third edition of Peter Manning's classic text, Electronic and Computer Music, deals with the development of the medium from its birth to the 21st century. The first section of the book, which remains essentially unchanged in this edition, covers electroacoustic music from its beginning at the turn of the century to 1945, the development of post-1945 'classical' studios, development of voltage-controlled technology, and its commercial exploitation in tape works, live electronic music, and the early use of electronics in rock and pop music. Section two, Computer Music, is heavily revised and significantly expanded and treats the digital revolution from the early experiments during the late 1950s and early 1960s to the advanced systems of today. Emphasizing the functional characteristics of emerging digital technologies and their influence on the creative development of the medium, Manning covers key developments in both commercial and the non-commercial sectors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175279 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Review

From reviews of the First Edition: "A deeply informed and lucidly written book.... [It] is invaluable for its thorough history and technical explanation, a fair bibliography and a useful discography. In its detailed information and balanced treatment, this book has no rivals."-- Hi-Fi News and Record Review
"This is a thoroughly recommended book which covers the enormous field with commendable organization."-- Tempo

About the Author

Peter Manning completed a doctorate in electroacoustic music at the University of Durham, and has been the director of its Electroacoustic Music Studio since 1980. In addition to writing books and articles on the history and development of the medium, he has directed several research programs into new technologies for computer music and composed a number of widely performed electroacoustic works.

Customer Reviews

Technical but digestable
This book is a nice overview of electronic and computer music (as one might gather from the title.) It's great to sit near a computer and research some of the composers and pieces discussed, as many of them are on youtube and at least sound clips are available somewhere online. You're not going to learn how to program or compose from this book, but it's great for getting a decent background of what went on from 1890-1990.