Musique Concrete's Influence on Electronic and Progressive Music Today

Noted French composer and music theorist Pierre Schaeffer is credited with founding musique concrete. How so? Well, in merely five works for tape (Cinq études de bruits or Five Studies of Noises), Schaeffer put into motion something altogether new and different on the music scene. These five works also included Etude violette (Study in Purple) and Etude aux chemins de fer (Study of Railroads), the latter of which gained much prominence over time for its innovative rhythm and sounds. These unusual and groundbreaking works were premiered at a concert given in Paris in 1948 and the rest, as they say, is history. But, it wasn't smooth sailing, that's for sure.

When Musique Concrete was aired on the radio, the classical music community was outraged and appalled. How could anyone call these sounds "music." But, composers and producers alike were enthralled when they considered the possibilities of technology's increasing role in the musical mix.

What Made Musique Concrete Revolutionary?

Why was musique concrete groundbreaking? Part of it has to do with access to new technology that emerged in post-war Europe. While microphones and magnetic tape recorders might sound passé to us today, these elements provided musicians with the tools to experiment with new sounds and recording techniques.

Schaeffer is a pioneer in this area for his conception of sound as the primary, rather than secondary, musical composition resource. In addition, he introduced an aspect of play in the creation of music, something that had never been done before.

The Notion of "Found" Sounds

Musique concrete is made when "found," sounds are arranged into a musical composition. Whatever is recorded, like footsteps, trains, bells, gongs or whistles, is arranged in a sound loop. It's this structure to the "found" sounds that make musique concrete.

Whose music typifies musique concrete today? Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Yoko Ono come to mind, but certainly there are other fine musicians who incorporate aspects of musique concrete into their musical compositions and concerts. Suffice it to say that musique concrete is a cornerstone of progressive musical composition, so much so that some would suggest that it provides the structure and dimension to modern contemporary music.

Musique Concrete Today

By the 1960's, Musique Concrete had caught on and was all the rage in the art music world. But, in a few short years, the introduction of the Moog Synthesizer in 1964 had made constructing music by splicing together and altering magnetic tape instantly obsolete. Musique concrete could only decline from there. But, its mere founding and introduction to the music world assured its place in music history and to this day electronica can tip its hat to Pierre Schaeffer and his post-war contemporaries.

Today, making musique concrete may be relegated to one of those many assignments you receive in a music class. But, for Schaeffer and his contemporaries, the revolution had only just begun.

RESOURCES

Musique Concrete
Historical Facts and Figures, Florida Atlantic University

The Julliard School
www.juilliard.edu

Peabody Conservatory of Music
www.peabody.jhu.edu/home.php

Electronic Music Association
http://ema.wsu.edu

MIDI Manufacturers Association
www.midi.org