Electronic music
------ The music symbol of the current era
In today’s increasingly multi-polar society, it seems that people have already Something that has always been established is gradually being dismantled. In the process of dissolving old things, new things are ruthlessly discarded and selectively absorbed simultaneously. Just as the digital way of love after the advent of computers diluted the romantic atmosphere of the ancients' "swan geese conveying love", computers also provide new tools for music to explore new sound sources, develop new sounds, create new music and new ways of expression. , a new way of working, a new way of thinking and an inexhaustible new space for artistic expression, liberating the "productivity" of music, completing the evolution from the "analog sound era" to the "digital sound era", and providing us with the ability to create music More possibilities. From current academic music to commercial chants, as well as advertising music and movie soundtracks, there are traces of electronic music, so electronic music will become the music symbol of our era! Of course, as a different form of music from tradition, it may not be accepted by people for a long time, which is normal, but this does not mean that it has no vitality. Looking at the current situation realistically, whether you accept it or not, with the further development of computer technology, electronic music has really entered our lives in a big way. Just as Zhang Xiaofu said, "Music is the art of 'sound'. Different sound structures constitute different musical languages. Different musical languages ??express different musical ideas. Different musical ideas bring different musical feelings to people. All art forms Only by keeping up with the times and the development of science and technology can we gain new vitality. The life of art lies in innovation. As a composer, we cannot always look at the backs of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and dare not innovate. Don't dare to surpass. "In fact, almost every technological advancement in human society is an extension of the human body and consciousness. The emergence of electronic music has also raised this extension to a whole new level with its unique advantages. It is precisely because of these unique advantages of electronic music that it conforms to the pulse of the music of the current era, and it is precisely because of these unique advantages that electronic music has become the music symbol of the current era.
As for the concept of electronic music, it has been introduced and explained in many books and online articles. I also explained it in the article <
First of all, electronic music relies on a computer device rather than the music itself, and it has a great degree of freedom in creation; on the one hand, many music is not created in traditional ways, but entirely with the help of electronic music. Human imagination is "created" by machines; computers can splice, cut and paste, and synthesize various kinds of music at will. So some people say, "Electronic music is a testimony of technology. It uses technology to witness music, and music to witness technology; electronic music is a betrayal of traditional music; electronic music is the first art to embrace the information age."
Compared with traditional music in the past, electronic music has proposed a new music concept; established a new technical route; discovered an infinite source of sound; and opened up a broad space for expression.
1. At the level of musical concepts, it completely breaks through people's inherent "fixed" traditional thinking mode.
This breakthrough ranges from the content of music to the form of music, and from the creation of music From the form to the communication method of music, from the organizational principles of music to the development logic of music... We only take the organizational principles of music as an example. The basic characteristics of traditional music can be summarized visually as: in the way of linear thinking "Organizing notes" - that is, rhythm is formed in the form of rhythm, melody is formed in the organization form of pitch, modal system is formed in the combination form of scales, vertical polyphonic system is formed in the sequential form of harmony, and polyphonic organization is used The form constitutes a horizontal polyphonic system, etc.; and the organizational characteristic of electronic music is to "organize sounds" in a non-linear way of thinking - that is, the original sound recording, sampling, etc. in the early stage, and the sound processing in the mid-term, including various electronic Changes in the way of processing and processing sound prototypes, causing fission and various deformation processes, local splitting and local collage, various montage combination editing and local synthesis, etc., as well as overall synthesis in the later stage.
2. Electronic music is a special art that highly combines music art and electronic technology
This particularity determines that artists engaged in this art must have musical thinking and technology Comprehensive talents with equally outstanding thinking. Compared with composers who rely solely on "pen creation" by writing scores, the technical and operational "science and engineering" components of the knowledge structure of composers engaged in electronic music are obviously important; specifically, in comprehensively mastering the "liberal arts" of music creation In addition to the basic skills of traditional composition technology (harmony, musical form, counterpoint and orchestration), it is also necessary to master the "four major" technologies (music acoustics, music acoustics, orchestration) in "science and engineering". Electronic technology, recording technology and computer technology), the two complement each other and are indispensable. Today's computers are just like the electric guitars of the last century and the pianos of the last century: a very ordinary and ordinary musical instrument. In more cases, composition and performance are integrated into one, which is a characteristic of electronic music. One person can complete the creation of the work in the laboratory, operate the instrument, and both compose and perform. It no longer requires many people and tedious rehearsals like traditional music, and it is difficult to unify opinions, saving both manpower and time.< /p>
3. Electronic music was the first to introduce the concept of space into the performance category of music
Electronic music was the first to introduce the concept of space into the performance category of music. The main form of communication of traditional music is concert performance At the scene, in addition to the music sound of the music itself, physical conditions such as the volume and area of ??the concert hall and the acoustic treatment of the environment determine the final sound result. This result is a concrete, tangible, fixed, closed sound field concept, electronic Music uses a combination of software and hardware to create and excavate a virtual, invisible, plastic, flowing, and open sound field concept. Going one step further, this specific space for music performance is a reality as a clear sound field. Tangible, its second meaning is to use technological means to provide us with an intangible virtual space that we can freely imagine and play freely.
4. Electronic music---composers’ new thinking and artistic expression space
1>. Electronic music, in the form of a carrier, can be incorporated into the linguistic human voice and other traditional difficult-to-understand Sounds that are difficult to play
If electronic music is regarded as a carrier, it can incorporate linguistic human voices and other sounds that are difficult to play in the tradition. It can be seen in many electronic music works, and this is Traditional music is incomparable. For example, in the work "Ode to the North Sea", the composer used the linguistic human voice (the cultural symbols that carry the five thousand years of splendid civilization of the Chinese nation - "The Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Surnames", Taoist chanting, Peking Opera). (Nian Bai is loaded into it in an orderly manner) The unique arrangement enables the work to be successfully displayed in terms of cultural interpretation. Music should not only convey an abstract spiritual message to modern people, but also give people a concrete cultural hint. When people listen to this beautiful music, the composer hopes that people can see these ancient cultural symbols. Something to think about, something to think about.
2>. The emergence of electronic music has caused traditional music elements to lose their dominant position
Electronic music, especially acoustic electronic music, usually brings us unfamiliar timbres. Strange sounds and unpredictable rhythm combinations. Compared with creating music works for traditional media, the emergence of acoustic electronic music means that composers have a new space for thinking and expression.
Due to the addition of a large number of audio materials without accurate pitch, musical elements such as melody, harmony, and tonality based on accurate pitch have lost their previous dominance. Since the flow of acoustic electronic music cannot be viewed in terms of rhythm in the usual sense, the beat almost does not exist. In other words, musical elements such as beat, harmony, tonality, and melody have all been downplayed. In addition, electronic music is combining more and more methods, means, concepts, and styles; especially in today's globalization trend of music creation, Western techniques such as splicing, collage, and combination, and Eastern techniques such as blending, deformation, and expansion are becoming increasingly popular. More and more are used in the same music, and all these have become the characteristics of acoustic electronic music.
3>. To some extent, electronic music has revolutionized traditional music
For modern composers, the sounds created by both vocal and instrumental music are extremely limited, but through With computers and auxiliary equipment, we can create unheard sounds without the limitations of commonly used instruments and players. It can also speed up and simplify the audio production process, eliminating the cumbersome labor of connecting audio equipment. Sometimes just changing the instructions can easily produce different versions of the same work. In this sense, computers have expanded people's understanding of sound. and speed of imagination, and the expansion is endless. So it can be said that the arrival of the information age has provided new tools, new ways of working, new ways of thinking and inexhaustible resources for music to explore new sound sources, develop new sounds, create new music and new ways of expression. A new space for artistic expression. The essential difference from traditional music is that it breaks the basic pattern of traditional music using "vocal language" and "instrumental language" to express musical ideas for thousands of years, as well as the limitations of various conventional methods of manual operation, and replaces it with any Sounds can be incorporated into music and changed the traditional notation method, and adopted the software-based and electronic creation methods of many eras, establishing the development idea of ??electronic music based on science and technology and exploring new music with the help of advanced technical means. field. Just as traditional concepts such as melody, harmony and musical form are eliminated in avant-garde and electronic acoustic music. Some artists not only embrace technology and are obsessed with machines, but they also worship all the shortcomings, mistakes and crises brought by technology and machines; as well as themselves They are extremely excited about the incorrect operation and irregular use of the machine, such as the jump needle of the CD player, errors in the program logic and other machine failures. They call this the aesthetics of errors.
In fact, electronic music There are many advantages, and these are the characteristics that make it a symbol of music in the current era. I believe that there will be new highlights in the future development trends. No matter what you think about electronic music, it is an indisputable fact that it has become increasingly popular due to its advantages. And now many countries in the world have established electronic music specialties. Laboratories and research institutions are generally located in universities and radio stations. The future of electronic music has become certain and colorful, and is no longer confused. Now it has entered its determined track and is developing normally in line with the pulse of the times.