Electroacoustic music is a type of music which originated in the late 1940s, and early 1950s. Originally, there were two groups of composers who were at strict odds with each other. In Paris, Musique Concrète, pioneered by Pierre Schaeffer, was based on the juxtapositon of natural sounds recorded to tape or disc. In Cologne, Elektronische Musik , pioneered by Herbert Eimert, was based around the construction of tones using only sine waves, which Eimert considered to be an electronic extension of serialism. The common link between the two schools is that the music is recorded and performed through loudspeakers, without a human performer. Currently, the majority of electroacoustic pieces use techniques from both earlier styles. Since around the early 1980s, many electroacoustic pieces have included live performers, either as a performer playing along with a tape, or, more recently, with live electronic processing of the performer's sound. The term acousmatic music is often used to refer to pieces which consist solely of prerecorded sound.

Electroacoustic music is a diverse, widely popular field. Important centers of research and composition can be found around the world, and there are numerous conferences which present electroacoustic music, most notably the International Computer Music Conference. Electroacoustic music is closely related to Electronica by technique; recently many electroacoustic composers have been influenced by popular electronica artists, most notably Amon Tobin, Autechre, Aphex Twin, and Squarepusher.

External links

• SEAMUS - Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States
• EARS - the Electro Acoustic Resource Site.
• Electroacoustic Music - style reference at Synthtopia.