The History of Electronic Music as a Reflection of Structural Paradigms

Chadabe, Joel

1996

Leonardo Music Journal 6: 41-44.

Language: English

In this article, the author posits that the two most important developments in the history of electronic music were (1) the opening up of music to all sounds and (2) the development of interactive instruments. He discusses the first development at length, suggesting ways in which it reflects general paradigm shifts in other fields. He then points to the ways in which the second development may also reflect broad paradigm shifts, and concludes by speculating about the direction that such paradigmatic changes may be taking in our time.