Music Definitions
Techno : musicology
Structure:
Stylistically, techno features an abundance of percussive,
synthetic sounds, studio effects used as principal instrumentation,
and a fast, regular 4/4 beat in the 130-140 bpm range. It is
very DJ-friendly, being mainly instrumental, often without
a discernible melody or bass line, and produced with the intention
of being incorporated into continuous DJ sets wherein different
compositions are played with very long, synchronized segues.
Although several other dance music genres can be described
in such terms, techno has a distinct sound that aficionados
can pick out very easily.
Composing techno:
There are many ways to make techno, but a typical techno
production is created using a compositional technique that
developed to suit the genre's sequencer-driven, electronic
instrumentation. While this technique is rooted in a Western
music framework (as far as scales, rhythm and meter, and the
general role played by each type of instrument), it does not
typically employ traditional approaches to composition such
as reliance on the playing of notes, the use of overt tonality
and melody, or the generation of accompaniment for vocals.
Some of the most effective techno music consists of little
more than cleverly programmed drum patterns that interplay
with different types of reverb and frequency filtering, mixed
in such a way that it's not clear where the instrument's timbres
end and the effects begin.
The studio:
Instead of employing traditional compositional techniques,
the techno musician treats the electronic studio as one large,
complex instrument: an interconnected orchestra of machines,
each producing timbres that are at once familiar and alien.
These machines are set in motion one by one, and are encouraged
to generate the kind of repetitive patterns that are more 'natural'
to them. Depending on how they are wired together, they sometimes
influence each other's sounds as the producer builds up many
layers of syncopated, rhythmic harmonies and mingles them together
at the mixing console.
After an acceptable palette of compatible textures is collected
in this manner, the producer begins again, this time focusing
not on developing new textures but on imparting a more deliberate
arrangement of the ones he or she already has. The producer "plays" the
mixer and the sequencer, bringing layers of sound in and out,
and tweaking the effects to create ever-more hypnotic, propulsive
combinations. The result is a deconstructive manipulation of
sound, owing as much to Debussy and the Futurist Luigi Russolo
as it does to Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream.
The techno producer's studio can be anything from a single
computer (increasingly common nowadays) to elaborate banks
of synthesizers, samplers, effects processors, and mixing boards
wired together. Most producers use a variety of equipment and
strive to produce sounds and rhythms never heard before, yet
stay fairly close to the stylistic boundaries set by their
contemporaries.
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