Automatic artistry : negotiating musical creativity in a technological age / Alyssa Michaud

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Michaud, Alyssa, Author.

Series:

California studies in music, sound, and media ; 8.

California studies in music, sound, and media ; 8

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music and technology--History.

Music and technology.

Electronic musical instruments--History.

Electronic musical instruments.

Musicians--Effect of technological innovations on.

Musicians.

Synthesizer (Musical instrument)--History.

Synthesizer (Musical instrument).

Drum machine--History.

Drum machine.

Mechanical pianos--History.

Mechanical pianos.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Oakland : University of California Press, [2026]

Summary:

"Musicians have access to an ever-growing array of technological tools, creating a world rich with new artistic possibilities. Yet the incursion of automation technology into creative pursuits has long sparked panic about the threat to human creativity and authenticity. Relating a 120-year history of automation in music, this book provides a timely historical demonstration of how older technologies of automation gave rise to initial unease, which was then followed by integration and exploration of their generative potentials. Journeying from the player piano at the turn of the twentieth century, through the introduction of drum machines and synthesizers, to the holographic pop stars of the twenty-first century, Alyssa Michaud shows how musical subcultures have shifted the parameters of debate around the meaning of automation and creativity. In riveting prose, Automatic Artistry directly addresses the choices we now face as we adapt to the newest wave of automated musical tools"-- De Gruyter Brill

Contents:

The player piano : from domestic machine to musical instrument

The reproducing piano : capturing and recreating “living presence”

Synthesizers : techno-pop and mechanization as aesthetic

Drum machines : synthesis, sampling, and the cultural construction of authentic sound

Singing synthesis : amateur collaboration in Vocaloid’s creative community

Holographic performance : automation and participatory fandom

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed August 10, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Michaud, Alyssa Automatic artistry

ISBN:

9780520405783

0520405781

OCLC:

1559038436

Publisher Number:

CIPO000312836

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license