| Electronic music |
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| Experimental forms |
| Popular styles |
| Other topics |
This is alist of electronic music genres, consisting ofgenres ofelectronic music, primarily created withelectronic musical instruments orelectronic music technology. A distinction has been made between sound produced usingelectromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology.[1] Examples of electromechanical sound producing devices include thetelharmonium,Hammond organ,electric piano, and theelectric guitar. Purely electronic sound production can be achieved using devices such as thetheremin,sound synthesizer, andcomputer.[2] Genre, however, is not always dependent on instrumentation.
In its early development, electronic music was associated almost exclusively with Westernart music, but from the late 1960s, the availability of affordable music technology—particularly of synthesizers—meant that music produced using electronic means became increasingly common in the popular domains ofrock andpop music andclassical music, resulting in major electronically based subgenres.[3] After the definition ofMIDI in 1982 and the development ofdigital audio, the creation of purely electronic sounds and their manipulation became much simpler.[4] As a result, synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s.[5] In the late 1980s,electronic dance music (EDM) records made using only electronic instruments became increasingly popular, resulting in a proliferation of electronic genres, subgenres, and scenes.[6] In the new millennium, as computer technology became even more accessible andmusic software advanced, interacting with music production technology made it possible to create music that has some similarities and some differences to traditionalmusical performance practices, leading to further developments and rapidly evolving subgenres.[7]
