This book presents a comprehensive history of the evolution of electronic and computer music from a perspective that connects the many interdisciplinary strands within these fields. The author offers a commentary on the philosophical and technical features that have shaped its growth, the working relationship between composers, performers and their sound making tools and the modes of communication and interaction that can be facilitated by new technologies.

Table of contents:

1. The Background to 1945
2. Paris and Musique Concrète
3. Cologne and Elektronische Musik
4. Milan and Elsewhere in Europe
5. America
6. The Voltage Controlled Synthesizer
7. Works for Tape
8. Live Electronic Music
9. Rock and Pop Electronic Music
10. The Foundations of Computer Music
11. From Computer Technology to Musical Creativity
12. The Microprocessor Revolution
13. The Characteristics of Digital Audio
14. The Development of the MIDI Communications Protocol
15. From Analog to Digital: The Evolution of MIDI Hardware
16. From Microcomputer to Music Computer: The MIDI Dimension
17. New Horizons for MIDI-based Technologies
18. Personal Computers and Sound Processing
19. Music Workstations and Related Computing Architectures
20. Performance Controllers
21. New Horizons in Synthesis and Signal Processing Software
22. Conclusion