In the twentieth century, technology brought a rapid evolution in the way music was created. Where humans once created music by playing instruments, those same sounds were processed electronically or digitally. Now, electronic instruments, along with other forms of technology, are so common to music composition that a listener might take this evolution for granted.

Early Experimentation

The theremin is an early electronic musical instrument, invented by Russian scientist Leon Theremin in 1919. The instrument is not played by a person touching it but by moving his or her hands around two antennas. Played by an experienced player, the result can be quite musical. When science-fiction films gained popularity in the 1950s, the theremin enjoyed a revival because of its strange, beautiful, and unworldly sound. Perhaps the most notable film to feature the theremin was The Day the Earth Stood Still. In 1960s rock-and-roll music, the Beach Boys used the theremin in their hit "Good Vibrations," as did Led Zeppelin in "Whole Lotta Love."

As early as the 1930s, traditionally acoustic instruments such as the guitar were given pick-ups (customized microphones) to electronically amplify its natural acoustic sound waves. Originally intended to make the instrument louder, musicians and engineers gradually invented and creatively incorporated electronic effects--reverb, distortion, chorus, and delay--to alter, or process, the original sound in some way. The powerful guitar sounds of Jimi Hendrix's music (1960), for example, feature electronic processing effects such as the "wah-wah" pedal.

New Direction

During the 1960s, analog synthesizers created groundbreaking sounds with wave synthesis, which works by adding and subtracting simple electronic wave forms, similar to those found in video games. Soon more complicated wave forms were heard in the music of groups such as Yes, Pink Floyd, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

In the 1980s, MIDI language was created. This allowed keyboards and computers to talk to each other. This technology expanded the ability to create complex layers of synthesized musical textures. Recently, digital sampling has gained prominence in music composition. With sampling technology, short audio recordings can be seamlessly repeated, or "looped." Using the sampling process, musicians can pick up and use existing recorded sound or reconstruct a melody played on an instrument by replaying short recordings of individual notes.

Recent Developments

In the 1990s, many musicians and producers used computers to create digital audio. Random-access digital audio increased the power and flexibility to mix musical elements and move them around in time. The advances are similar to the way computers have opened new possibilities to visual artists and filmmakers.

Today, music composers and producers use these innovations in various ways. As you listen to your favorite new music, challenge yourself to identify how modern technologies are used.

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