Books in the Cambridge Introductions to Music series

Emphasising the creative aspect of music technology, this introduction sets out an overview of the field for music students in a non-scientific and straightforward way. Engaging and user-friendly, the book covers studio concepts: basic audio and the studio workflow, including audio and MIDI recording. It explores synthesisers, samplers and drum machines as well as basic concepts for electronic performance. In considering the role of the DJ, the book addresses remixing and production, drawing upon many examples from the popular music repertoire as well as looking at the studio as an experimental laboratory. The creative workflow involved in music for media is discussed, as well as controllers for performance and the basics of hacking electronics for music. The book as a whole reflects the many exciting areas found today in music technology and aims to set aspiring musicians off on a journey of discovery in electronic music.

This accessible introduction provides a comprehensive survey of program music from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Exploring works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Liszt, Saint-Saens, Mahler, Strauss, and others, it sets the ideas and repertoires of program music in context, with numerous illustrations and music examples.

Serialism, one of the most prominent innovations in music since 1900, is a key topic in music studies for both undergraduate and graduate students. From Schoenberg to Stockhausen, Berg to Boulez, this introduction tells the story of how serialism emerged, and explains serial compositional techniques in a clear, non-technical way.

Designed to guide students through this key topic in music studies, this book examines what Gregorian chant is, where it comes from, and how it took on the form and features which make it instantly recognizable. Containing examples from medieval manuscripts, the book shows how chants are made and notated.

Using a wide range of examples from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, this is an invaluable introduction to the important musical genre of the song cycle. It considers social and performance contexts, the impact of recording technology and how the song cycle interacts with operatic, symphonic and popular music.

The sonata is the most enduring and popular genre of instrumental music. This introductory survey presents an overview across the centuries, using analyses of selected works and illustrative music examples to provide students, teachers and performers with an accessible yet thorough tool to understand this important repertoire.

What is opera and how does it work? How has this dramatic form developed and what is its relevance in the modern world? Perfect for music students and opera-goers, this introductory guide addresses these questions and many more, exploring opera as a complete theatrical experience. Organised chronologically and avoiding technical musical terminology, the book clearly demonstrates how opera reflected and reacted to changes in the world around it. A special feature of the volume is the inclusion of illustrative tables throughout. These provide detailed, easy to follow analysis of arias, scenes and acts; visual guides to historical movements; and chronologies relating to genres and individual composers' works. Overall, the book fosters an understanding of opera as a living form as it encounters and uses material from an ever expanding repertoire in time, place and culture.

Postmodernism is a term that has been used extensively to describe general trends and specific works in many different cultural contexts, including literature, cinema, architecture and the visual arts. This introduction explores the term in relation to music through discussion of specific musical examples from the 1950s to the present.

This accessible Introduction explores both mainstream and experimental manifestations of electronic music. From early recording equipment to the most recent multimedia performances, the history of electronic music is full of interesting characters, fascinating and unusual music, and radical technology. Covering many different eras, genres and media, analyses of works appear alongside critical discussion of central ideas and themes, making this an essential guide for anyone approaching the subject for the first time. Chapters include key topics from synth pop to sound art, from electronic dance music to electrical instruments, and from the expression of pure sound to audiovisuals. Highly illustrated and with a wide selection of examples, the book provides many suggestions for further reading and listening to encourage students to begin their own experiments in this exciting field.

This introduction provides students and scholars with the skills they need to begin on research projects involving the study of composers' working documents. It includes numerous illustrations of original manuscripts and autographs and a selection of detailed case studies, which explore how sketches were created and the techniques involved.