Product Description

Perfectly designed for practitioners and students of electronic music, installation and sound art, this is a long-needed, practical and engaging introduction to the craft of making - and creatively cannibalizing - electronic circuits for artistic purposes. From electronic radios to toys, "Handmade Electronic Music" is a fascinating guided tour through the world of electronics and the, encouraging artists to get to know the inner workings of basic electronic devices so they can creatively use them for their own ends. Written throughout from the practical point of view of the artist, "Handmade Electronic Music" teaches: the basics of practical circuitry; basic electronic principles; a brief history of twentieth-century electronic devices; how to work with all kinds of analogue circuitry and sounds; and a step-by-step through the process, until they are capable of building their own instruments that are usable, practical and cheap. This unique, fun and easy-to use guide includes a CD illustrating the many sounds that devices can produce, and stands as the must-have guide for anyone who wants to get their hands onto and into the world of electronic devices.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59539 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review

"Nicolas Collins wants to tear apart your CD player" – Wired magazine

"Nic Collins’ hacking manual helps us create creatures with three arms and three legs. It carries the maverick, inventor-tinkerer tradition of Harry Partch, Henry Cowell and David Tudor into the 21st century. And it does so in a light, deft way — its charmingly simple, casual diagrams hide the fact that its author is a sophisticated fellow who has done a lot of thinking, conversing and music-making in the course of his travels and explorations." – from foreword by David Behrman

"There are times in the history of any art form when its true visionaries set down in words the blueprint behind an entire generation of genius. Collins has done just that with Handmade Electronic Music, an essential manifesto of know-how, trade secrets, and aesthetic accomplishment leaping off from Cage and Tudor and landing in today's classroom." – Thom Holmes, author of Electronic and Experimental Music and The Routledge Guide to Music Technology

From the Back Cover

Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking provides a long-needed, practical, and engaging introduction for students of electronic music, installation, and sound-art to the craft of making—as well as creatively cannibalizing—electronic circuits for artistic purposes. Designed for practitioners and students of electronic art, it provides a guided tour through the world of electronics, encouraging artists to get to know the inner workings of basic electronic devices so they can creatively use them for their own ends. With little knowledge, and a sense of adventure, an artist can subvert the intentions designed into devices like electronic radios or toys and discover all sorts of alternative possible sounds. The book takes you step-by-step through this process, so that by the end of the text, the user should be capable of building their own stand alone electronic instruments that are usable, practical, and cheap.

For students of electronic music—and anyone who wants to get their hands onto and into the world of electronic devices—Handmade Electronic Music stands as a unique, fun, and easy-to-use guide to expanding creative horizons.