electroacoustic

Electroacoustic music occupies the territory between purely electronic music (generated entirely by electronic means) and purely acoustic music, using technology to transform, extend, or interact with acoustic sounds. This can involve live electronics processing an instrumentalist's sound in real time, pre-recorded acoustic sounds manipulated in a studio, or combinations of both. The genre emerged from the musique concrète studios of the 1940s and electronic music studios of the 1950s. Key developments include Karlheinz Stockhausen's Kontakte (1960), which juxtaposes electronic sounds with piano and percussion; the spectral music of Gérard Grisey, which uses electronic analysis of acoustic sounds to generate orchestral textures; and the live electronics work of composers like George Lewis and Kaija Saariaho. Today, laptop performers routinely process acoustic instruments in real time, and the boundary between acoustic and electronic music continues to blur in genres from contemporary classical to experimental rock.