form

September 19, 2022

Notes On Form In Electronic Music Production

“A piece of writing ought not to be planned for a given size but developed to the length most suitable to the material, and no farther.” – John McPhee, Tabula Rasa If you’re a casual listener to electronic music, you may be forgiven for thinking that form in most styles of the genre is essentially Continue reading

form
May 18, 2022

On Beginnings and Endings: Fennesz’s “Nebenraum”

In Austrian producer and guitarist Christian Fennesz’s “Nebenraum” (2022), the first three minutes are filled by a three-note dissonant drone that sets up you for something you couldn’t have anticipated. As I listened to the piece over and over, I thought about the connection between the music’s three minutes and its final 75 seconds, which Continue reading

beginnings and endings, drone, form

Thomas Brett is a musician and writer who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from New York University. He is the author of Principles of Electronic Music Production and The Creative Electronic Music Producer, a book described by Sound On Sound magazine as “a deep philosophical analysis of the various creative inspirations, ideas and processes involved in producing electronic music.” His essays have appeared in the journals Popular Music and Popular Music and Society, as well as edited collections by Routledge, Oxford, and Cambridge University presses. Thomas has played percussion on Broadway since 1997 and writes about music at brettworks.com.

form

Notes On Form In Electronic Music Production

On Beginnings and Endings: Fennesz’s “Nebenraum”