English Electronic Music: Delve into the Digital Archives
Explore the history of English electronic music, while mastering techniques and approaches in digital music archiving, with this online course from the University of Huddersfield.
Duration
4 weeks
Weekly study
4 hours
100% online
How it works
Unlimited subscription
Learn more
Established
1992
Location
Huddersfield (West Yorkshire), United Kingdom
World ranking
Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021
Trace the history of electronic music
Electronic music is the backbone of contemporary musical culture. We owe the studios and pioneers of the mid-20th century for laying the foundations of the electronic music we listen to today.
On this four-week course from the University of Huddersfield, you’ll trace electronic music back to its origins in the 1950s and 1960s. You’ll explore the lives and experience of the genre’s early trailblazers, the techniques they used, the attitudes they met with, and the impact they had on musical history.
Discover the origins and ideologies of early electronic music
Before homing in on the specifics of English electronic music, you’ll investigate the genre’s global roots.
You’ll compare different the philosophies and ideologies that helped to shape electronic music in Europe and America.
Understand Roberto Gerhard’s role in shaping the genre
In the third week of the course, you’ll learn more about the composer and musical scholar Roberto Gerhard.
You’ll explore Gerhard’s legacy on English electronic music, and ask why his pioneering contribution to the genre has largely been forgotten.
Master processes, techniques, and approaches in digital music archiving
In the final week of the course, you’ll discover how digital archiving can inform our understanding of musical history. You’ll get to grips with digital archiving processes, and identify the challenges of archiving analogue materials.
By the end of the course, you’ll know where electronic music came from, and how we can document it in the future.
Week 1
The Origins of Electronic Music
Welcome
Welcome to the course!
France and the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (or the GRM)
The origins of electronic music: Pierre Schaeffer and the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM)
Germany and the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (or the WDR)
...and their competitors, Karlheinz Stockhausen and the Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Other Electronic Music Studios
Let's look at other countries approaches to electronic music – Italy, Poland, and the USA
Week 1 Roundup
A quick roundup of the course content for this week
Week 2
English Cultures of Electronic Music
Techniques of electronic music
A brief overview of some of the processes used to create early electronic music
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The centrepiece of electronic music in England – the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Tristram Cary & RCM Studios
A look at English electronic music pioneer Tristram Cary
The lost voices of English electronic music
A look at how and why early pioneers of electronic music are often overlooked in our historical narratives
Week 2 Roundup
A quick roundup of the course content for this week
Week 3
Roberto Gerhard
The person
An overview of the personal history of Roberto Gerhard
The composer
An overview of Roberto Gerhard's practice as a composer of classical music
Gerhard's electronic music
A look at what role electronic music played in Roberto Gerhard's broader compositional activities
A 'Third Way'
A look at how Roberto Gerhard's electronic music related ideologically to the work of the GRM and WDR
Week 3 Roundup
A quick roundup of the course content for this week
Week 4
The Roberto Gerhard Digital Archive
An overview of archiving
An introduction into the topic of archives and their role in research
Converting from Analogue to Digital
A look at the challenges and opportunities afforded by the digitisation of archive materials
The digital archive
We discuss how the Roberto Gerhard Digital Archive was created
Discoveries in the archive
We discuss what we have learnt from the Roberto Gerhard Digital Archive, and how this archive has helped gain a unique insight into the work of Roberto Gerhard
Week 4 Roundup
A quick roundup of the course content for this week
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