History of Electronic Music

Catalog description

This course is a nonlinear history of electronic music, primarily in the United States. It is divided into ten topical milestones of electronic music history. Each week one topic is addressed, divided between mainstream and experimental perspectives and their interactions. Topics include early experimental electronic instruments, sampling/hip-hop, disco, and noise/glitch. Much of the class is about listening and learning to analyze music in terms both subjective and objective. Students will also train their ears to identify concrete elements within a musical track such as development and instrumentation, and consider abstract elements such as meaning and perception.