Pierre Schaeffer: A Turning Point In Music

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Less than one hundred years ago, there was a turning point not only in technology, but in music. Traditionally, music was always created by series a of natural musical sounds created by instruments. An electroacoustic genre was introduced by two men, raised by parents of musical background, that changed the way we produce music through technology. Pierre Schaeffer, the father of musique concrète, introduced abstract sound outside of the musical theory boundaries. Robert Moog developed synthesizers which became a milestone in the technology of electronic music. In their life spans, they both played huge, influential roles in developing and shaping the analog era. On August 14, 1910, Pierre Schaeffer was born in Nancy, France. His father, a …show more content…

The piece was Etude aux Chemins de Fer, and the public did not have a positive reaction to it. Musicians, however, found it fascinating, and it sparked their curiosity and interest. His first recorded work was titled Dix and d’essais radiophoniques du Studio au Club d’Essai It was a collaboration of works with other artists in the Clud d’Essai over a span of ten years and released for listening in 1953. These works became an important point in experimental music. Schaeffer and co-worker Pierre Henry created Groupe de Musique Concrète, later renamed Groupe de Recherches Musique Concrète (GRMC) , all in the French National Radio structure. This studio was the home of the creation of important electronic music of the analog era. The goals of GRMC were: to define “solfege” of sound based on perception, and question erroneous beliefs about music, listening, and attributes to sound. By the 1960’s GRMC’s team became dissatisfied with the meticulous efforts of producing electronic music. Schaeffer retired from music in 1960. Years after his retirement he wrote an article titled “Musique Concrète: What Do I Know?” In this article he dismisses his previous work concluding that music needs “searchers” not “auteures.” Pierre Schaeffer died on August 19,

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