Origins of Electronic Music, 1890-1980

The history and technology of electronic music starting from its beginnings in the age of Edison and Bell, to the dawn of the digital era. Topics include composers' search for new sounds; technological developments enabling the electronic creation and manipulation of sounds; inventors of new instruments and compositional techniques; and development of schools of electronic music in various cultures in North America, Europe, and Asia. Emphasis on listening to and analyzing important works, viewing and reading interviews with composers and inventors, and hands-on sound manipulation using modern simulations of historical electronic-music tools.