Electronic Instruments

This lesson is part of the Electronic Music & Sound Production category.

Objectives

• Students will be familiar with historical and contemporary electronic instruments.
• Students will be able to design a MIDI studio to meet a given musical need.

Resources

Listening or Videos

• Crab, 120 Years of Electronic Music
• Soundfly: "A Brief History of Synthesizers"
• 12tone:
  • “How One Instrument Defined A Generation”
• MIDI.org: MIDI Tutorials
• Haas, Introduction to Computer Music:
  • "MIDI"
  • "A Brief History of Sound Synthesis"
  • "Electronic Music Historical Timeline"

Class Activities

• Discussion and demonstration of electronic instruments (e.g., theremin, synthesizer, Hammond organ, electric guitar)
• Discussion and demonstration of a MIDI studio, including outboard synthesizers and various controllers
• Making Sound with Electric Hobby Kits
• Performance and improvisation using electronic instruments

Assignments

• Identification of electronic instruments in recorded music
• Designing a MIDI studio to meet given musical criteria
• Creating electromagnetic circuit diagrams
• Classifying mechanical, electric and electronic instruments