Musik elektronik adalah musik yang menggunakan alat musik elektronik, instrumen digital, dan teknologi musikberbasis sirkuit. Secara umum, dapat dibedakan antara suara yang diproduksi menggunakan cara elektromekanis (musik elektroakustik), dan yang diproduksi hanya menggunakan elektronik.[1] Instrumen elektromekanis mengandung elemen mekanik, seperti dawai, palu, dan sebagainya, dan elemen elektrik, seperti pickup magnetik, power amplifier dan pengeras suara. Contoh perangkat penghasil suara elektromekanis termasuk telharmonium, organ Hammond, dan gitar listrik, yang biasanya dibuat cukup keras untuk didengar oleh pemain dan audiens dengan penguat instrumen dan kabinet speaker. Instrumen elektronik murni tidak memiliki dawai yang bergetar, palu, atau mekanisme penghasil suara lainnya. Perangkat seperti theremin, synthesizer, dan komputer dapat menghasilkan suara elektronik.[2]
Perangkat elektronik pertama untuk pertunjukan musik dikembangkan pada akhir abad ke-19, dan tak lama kemudian futuris Italia mengeksplorasi suara yang belum dianggap musikal. Selama tahun 1920-an dan 1930-an, instrumen elektronik diperkenalkan dan komposisi pertama untuk instrumen elektronik dibuat. Pada tahun 1940-an, pita audio magnetik memungkinkan musisi untuk merekam suara dan kemudian memodifikasinya dengan mengubah kecepatan atau arah kaset, yang mengarah ke perkembangan musik pitaelektroakustik pada 1940-an, di Mesir dan Prancis. Musique concrète, dibuat di Paris pada tahun 1948, didasarkan pada pengeditan bersama rekaman fragmen suara alam dan industri. Musik yang diproduksi hanya dari generator elektronik pertama kali diproduksi di Jerman pada tahun 1953. Musik elektronik juga dibuat di Jepang dan Amerika Serikat dimulai pada 1950-an. Perkembangan baru yang penting adalah munculnya komputer untuk menggubah musik. Komposisi algoritmik dengan komputer pertama kali didemonstrasikan pada 1950-an (walaupun komposisi algoritmik per se tanpa komputer telah dibuat jauh lebih awal, misalnya Musikalisches Würfelspiel dari Mozart).
Pada 1960-an, musik elektronik langsung dipelopori di Amerika dan Eropa, alat musik elektronik Jepang mulai mempengaruhi industri musik, dan musik dubJamaika muncul sebagai bentuk musik elektronik populer. Pada awal 1970-an, synthesizer monofonikMinimoog dan mesin drum Jepang membantu mempopulerkan musik elektronik yang disintesis.
Musik yang diproduksi secara elektronik menjadi lazim di domain populer pada 1990-an, karena munculnya teknologi musik yang terjangkau.[3] Musik elektronik kontemporer mencakup banyak variasi dan mencakup musik seni eksperimental hingga bentuk populer seperti musik dansa elektronik. Saat ini, musik elektronik pop paling dikenal dalam bentuk 4/4 dan lebih terkait dengan budaya arus utama dibandingkan dengan bentuk sebelumnya yang dikhususkan untuk pasar khusus.[4]
^"The stuff of electronic music is electrically produced or modified sounds. ... two basic definitions will help put some of the historical discussion in its place: purely electronic music versus electroacoustic music" (Holmes 2002, hlm. 6).
^Electroacoustic music may also use electronic effect units to change sounds from the natural world, such as the sound of waves on a beach or bird calls. All types of sounds can be used as source material for this music. Electroacoustic performers and composers use microphones, tape recorders and digital samplers to make live or recorded music. During live performances, natural sounds are modified in real time using electronic effects and audio consoles. The source of the sound can be anything from ambient noise (traffic, people talking) and nature sounds to live musicians playing conventional acoustic or electro-acoustic instruments (Holmes 2002, hlm. 8).
^"Electronically produced music is part of the mainstream of popular culture. Musical concepts that were once considered radical—the use of environmental sounds, ambient music, turntable music, digital sampling, computer music, the electronic modification of acoustic sounds, and music made from fragments of speech-have now been subsumed by many kinds of popular music. Record store genres including new age, rap, hip-hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and popular song all rely heavily on production values and techniques that originated with classic electronic music" (Holmes 2002, hlm. 1). "By the 1990s, electronic music had penetrated every corner of musical life. It extended from ethereal sound-waves played by esoteric experimenters to the thumping syncopation that accompanies every pop record" (Lebrecht 1996, hlm. 106).
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