Experimental music is defined as any music that pushes existing boundaries, going beyond any genre. This unconventional style first appeared in the mid-20th century, especially in post-war Europe and America.
1952 was a breakthrough year for experimental music, with legendary composer John Cage first performing his composition. This experimental composition is performed with an absence of purposeful sound; the musicians appear and do nothing. The “music” the composition is not silent, but the environmental sounds the audience hears during this unusual performance.
Experimental music schools the listener in an alternative way to experience the world. The truth is, we are immersed in a never-ending symphony of sound, whether it is the pleasant sounds of nature or the artificial rhythms of the city.
The following year, French composer Pierre Schaeffer put together the First International Decade of Experimental Music, for 10 days in June. Schaeffer pioneered the use of “found sounds,” mixing real-life sounds, such as the rhythmic sound of a train running along railroad tracks. Pierre Schaeffer also pioneered the use of tape loops and tape splicing to create sound collages.
The fact is experimental music has worked its way into the psyche of modern life; many mainstream movies use aspects of experimental music in their soundtracks. Performance artists like the Blue Man Group delve into the experiment using non-traditional instruments to imitate the sounds of industrial chaos.
Explore the possibilities of sound at the experimental music school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
