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Electronic Music Research Paper

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When it comes to electronic music the general assumption is that it is mindless noise that can be created by anyone with a music program and a laptop. The reality is that the process of creating electronic music is very complicated and tedious. It is also likely that the same people that say they dislike electronic music or that it isn’t real music enjoy listening to it without their knowledge of it. Electronic music is not only found almost everywhere but creating it can be compared to writing a symphony which is a long and involved process that cannot be done by everyone. Grandparents will say it sounds like Robots having sex, parents will say it doesn’t use any real instruments, and my peers will say that it’s a niche market and …show more content…

Think of it like this, if I’m using a digital drum machine the buttons I’m pressing aren’t going to sound like an actual drum set. MIDI is what converts the pressing of those buttons into the sounds you hear that replicate an actual drum set. Britannica states the process as the following “MIDI comprises a set of defined instructions, or MIDI messages, telling a compatible instrument which notes to play, how hard to strike them, with what effects (such as vibrato or sustain), and at what tempo and relative volume. A central MIDI controller, such as a keyboard, can be used to convey musical instructions to one or more MIDI instruments—for instance, an electronic drum machine or a second keyboard.” (Britannica). The complexity of this is incomprehensible because MIDI is a digital entity so having a basic understanding of it is essential in digital music production. Because MIDI converts sound the playback may not be exactly what the artist wanted. The timing or pitch or every other level of the note could be way off from what they were hoping for which then makes the artist must compensate for these changes when they play the note in the first place. Understanding how to work with MIDI is so essential in electronic music production that numerous colleges and universities around the world teach courses on it. These schools range from music specific, community colleges, and even ivy league schools (Berkley) all have programs designed to teach musicians how to use

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