Electroacoustic Music Is a "Subversion" to the Form of Traditional Music——An Idea From "Etudes Metro"—the Work of Pierre Schaeffer

Muyan Li （Department of Music of Qingdao University 山东青岛 266071）

Electroacoustic Music Is a "Subversion" to the Form of Traditional Music
——An Idea From "Etudes Metro"—the Work of Pierre Schaeffer

Muyan Li （Department of Music of Qingdao University 山东青岛 266071）

Abstract: We have studied“Metro Etudes”—the work of Pierre Schaeffer in this paper， and exploited the proposal of the concept of“concrete music”.We discuss the basic concepts and characteristics of the current electroacoustic musics profoundly， analysis their development and current situation， explain the distinctions and connections between the electroacoustic musics and the traditional ones.We propose the viewpoint that the electroacoustic music is a“subversion”and simultaneously an inheritance to the traditional one.We also propose a series of viewpoints.Finally，we predict the future development of electroacoustic musics in China.

Index: Electroacoustic music; concrete music; Schaeffer; music pattern

1.Introduction of the Electroacoustic Musics

The“Metro Etude”of France musician Pierre Schaeffer was a historical landmark in the developmental history of electroacoustic musics.It broke the previous simple concept of music，because it sampled sounds and whistles of subway at a technical level and used them as materials.It employed the techniques of cutting and collage to organize sounds，and possessed a high degree of centralization and unification about the materials.It found a major breakthrough about the nature of sounds and also the expressive force.

Electro acoustic music is one form of modern music，and is not exactly as same as the traditional form.A growing number of musicians believe that the sounds generated by current can break through the traditional framework and the hearing experience.Broadly speaking，Electroacoustic musics are produced by electronic equipments，and have a great degree of freedom.They also have a wide range of applications，such as incidental musics，advertising musics，pops，jazzs，rock and roll musics.In a narrow sense，electroacoustic musics are created by electronic means.They possess more abundant imaginations and are based on the traditional ones.Art is the product of the times.They have broadened the performance space of music，and broken through the traditional mode of thinking in the aspect of music creation，communication，aesthetics，needs，and thinkings.

2.Characteristics of Electroacoustic Musics

Electroacoustic music is a form of combination of music art and modern technology.It has not only inherited the music creation techniques of traditional art，but also expanded the traditional scope.The characteristics of electroacoustic musics can be summarized as follows:2.1 A Highly Associated Form.

Knowledge structure of electroacoustic musics creators and the musics themselves have combined the essences of both music and technology.Artists of this kind of art must be compounded talents who are proficient in both of them.Similarly，the creation process of electroacoustic musics also combinated knowledge of music and ability of technology.Specifically speaking，the process includes not only composition technology of traditional music，acoustics，melody，counterpoint and orchestration，but also technology of science and engineering Therefore，the electroacoustic music is a highly united form from both the art of music and electronic technology.

2.2 Introducing the Concept of “Virtual Space”

The main dissemination form of traditional musics is scene performance.The sizes and areas of the sites，acoustic treatments of the environment and other physical conditions determine that the form is the concrete，tangible sound field concept.While the electroacousticmusics use the mean of combination of hardwares and softwares， and create a virtual， invisible， plastic，fluid and open sound field.Furthermore， this virtual space can not only express the concept of real sound field， but also provide a mean of free imagination，free performance and intangible virtual space.

2.3 The Almost“Infinite”Scale of Performance

Electroacoustic musics take into account the languages of the human voice that traditional ones cannot take into musical production.They change in frequency units，and perform a fundamentally different“note effect”.Traditional“Piano tone”can also be completely changed.One of their major characteristics is the“randomness”of hearing.Because the application of modern electronic equipments，what can be played out for the next second can be unexpected even for professional musicians.They use electronic equipments，and extend the scale of musical ideas expressed by the traditional rules.All these can be the performances of“infinitely”extended scale of electroacoustic musics.

3.Relations Between Electroacoustic and Traditional Musics

In traditional ideas，musics should be created by traditional techniques to express minds，so sometimes effects on the sense of hearing would be ignored.While better electroacoustic musics not only give people delights in the sense of hearing，but also contain strong traditional composition skills.

The art of musics depends on material noumenon，which decides that electroacoustic musics have the qualitative difference comparing to traditional ones.As for musical“notes”，electroacoustic musics which change in units of frequency can play fundamentally different effects from the traditional ones.If we consider that one music is the ordered Arrangement of sounds， then the electroacoustic musics are consistent with and traditional ones.Namely， the melody，rhythm，harmony in traditional musics and musics’functions，deformations of the electroacoustic ones are all to arrange the sounds according to certain rules of order.However，whether the definitions of the two kinds of“orders”of the traditional and electroacoustic musics are the same，and which elements of the traditional musics are useful for the creation of electroacoustic ones should be seriously considered.Naturally speaking，musics created according to the principle of harmony theory，polyphony rules，musical form routines，orchestration skills are still traditional ones.Because they do not use the electroacoustic“language”，and cannot actually be called electroacoustic musics.

The rules of traditional musics are derived from human biological instinct，and bounded by the limitations of hearing，awareness and summarization capacity.Electroacoustic musics can express the creative ideas more exactly in a broader space by using electronic equipments.Electronic means are just like a“megaphone”，which extends the music expression scale of traditional rules originated from biological instinct.We can say that electroacoustic music is the“subversion” to the traditional music in the forms of pattern and conception.

4.“Subversion”of Electroacoustic Musics to Traditional Musical Form

Admittedly， the“subversive”role of electroacoustic musics to the traditional ones is great， and it spreads from the aesthetic of the spiritual level to the musical concepts， such as music thinking pattern.It exists widely from the music content to the form， from composition modality to dissemination form， from the organizing principle to the developing logic.

From the viewpoint of thought pattern， basic characteristic of traditional musics is the linear thinking mode.While the electroacoustic ones can organize sounds basing on nonlinear mode.As for the viewpoint of dominance of musical elements， because the intervention of a large number of audio materials，dominance of the main elements， such as rhythm，harmony， tonality and melodic in the traditional music era have been diluted.Furthermore， the combinations of electroacoustic musics take more means， concepts，styles， editing and collage from the West and blend，deformation and stretching of the East have been used together.As for the age characteristics， through electronic equipments， music creation processing has been accelerated and simplified.Audio device connection work has been replaced by simple changes of instructions.Therefore， the electroacoustic musics have expanded the traditional scale of the sounds and imaginations to almost infinity.Meanwhile， the coming of information age has provided new tools，working and thinking modes，and unlimited expression space for new sound sources.Essential difference between electroacoustic and traditional musics is that electroacoustic ones have broken the traditional idea which last for thousands of years.They have established the developing model of taking science and technology as basis and driving force，and taken advantages of new techniques to explore new musical domains.

5.The Future Development

The future direction and development of electroacoustic music have already become the focus of our attentions.From the viewpoint of creation，the development and upgrading of electroacoustic musics need both generalists and specialists.As for talents training， active and rapid Absorptions of the world's latest achievements of electronic technology，cultivation of outstanding talents have become top priorities.As for music education， strategies and decisions of the education sectors should be focused，targeted and systematic in the future planning and development of electroacoustic musics.

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