Abstract
Electronics started to change the world of musical instruments as early as the 1920s. The first electronic instruments revolutionized the perception and understanding of the term instrument because they provided new ways of making accessible and controlling sound and timbre. Furthermore, new types of instruments started to develop into several subtypes during the 1950s and turned out to be quite heterogeneous in appearance, musical functionality, and, last but not least, playing technique. The preparing of analogue synthesizers before the actual concert as well as the programming of computer produced sounds and samples shifted the artistic work from the performance to its preparation. The use of computers enlarged the potential of instruments to be used like complete recording studios. Those features had, of course, tremendous influence on composing and producing music, and greatly changed music and the artistic aspects of composing. This chapter tries to shed light on those changes from an organological point of view, meaning that electronic instruments and their development could be seen from the perspective of not only functionality but also handling and playing. The ways of making functional features useable for the artist impacts her or his work and thoughts.
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Brilmayer, B. (2020). Sound Visions and Visible Sounds: Electronic Musical Instruments and Their Power to Change. In: Jóri, A., Lücke, M. (eds) TheNewAge of Electronic Dance Music and Club Culture. Music Business Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39002-0_9
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