Early Electronic Music Techniques Explained

I was asked by Goethe Institut Tokyo and Gebrüder Teichmann to do a talk on early electronic music techniques, with a special focus on Stockhausen and the WDR. I had no idea how I could present the results of my research in a fun way until the morning it was due, when a friend asked me to connect the dots of what I was doing. What a better way then to create a piece, like I do on my channel anyway? Using techniques by Stockhausen and others at the WDR Studio, I assembled a piece with audience help in an "Against The Clock" fashion.
I held this talk at Superbooth22, thanks to everyone at the stage, sound, light and film crew for making this recording.
The event that this is part of:
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[@Hainbach]

Superbooth 2022 not 2020, doh! Thanks for watching! Find the piece on my patreon.com/hainbach, thanks supporting the channel there.

[@dannykmack]

They feel like the same year :)

[@Hainbach]

Actually you are not wrong about that

[@bci3937]

ich dachte grad hä? doublecheck the date haha*

[@matthewharty6531]

meh-tik-you-louse-li

[@Youtube.Commen-tater]

@@matthewharty6531 At least use the international phonetic alphabet so it's clear what you're trying to /məˈtɪk.jə.ləs.li/ communicate, you louse

[@phpn99]

I was privileged to attend a full week of Stockhausen masterclasses and retrospective at IRCAM in Paris, in November '83 or December '84 (I can't remember the exact date ; I was 19 years old). The Master was sitting in the middle of the Grand Auditorium, with all of us sitting in a circle around him. He had tape decks and the sound system was quadraphonic. Over the course of one week, he played ALL of his master tapes, from the first experiments at WDR, up to his most recent works. He went through great detail explaining what were their thinking at the studio back then, splicing minuscule bits of magnetic tape to produce timbres. Part of the critical dimension of thinking was the exploration of ratios that were either non-Pythagorean, or based on non-integer values. For both harmonic series AND note pitches AND durations. I remember he said that they had found that all the bass sounds they would create always ended up sounding like a bassoon, and they wanted to crack that code and find ways to produce a whole variety of bass sounds. Knowing this (I was by than already very familiar, aurally, with his work) helped me understand WHAT I was listening to. Part of the work with stereo and quadraphonic, and MOTION between channels (he was doing Doppler before anyone else), was also related to questions about cognitive psychology. His was always an artistic endeavour, but he always questioned the 'received rules' and 'common sense' of tonal music, but in a way that was different from dodecaphonists, Xenakis and Ligeti. When he sample words, for instance, he questioned the sensory-emotive effect of the word-as-sound and the word-as-concept. There's an Escherian dimension to his music ; which was 'meta-meta-meta'. Loved this guy to death. To this day, Kontakt remains one of the creations that electrifies my brain. It's like Kandinsky in sound.

[@phpn99]

I am sure that IRCM has complete recordings of these seminars.

[@Hainbach]

Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@FUNKINETIK]

I found out about IRCAM in the mid 80’s when I studied Architecture, it’s situated below ground adjacent to the Pompidou Centre. For an architectural project we had to design a recording studio, I was fascinated by the acoustic wall panels at IRCAM, they were formed with floor to ceiling height ‘Toblerone’ shaped structures with each of the three sides having a different surface. Rotating the ‘Toblerones’ to differing sides allowed the acoustic qualities of the room to be altered. On another note I love Kandinsky’s work and Bauhaus. P E A C E : )

[@JeremyYuille]

I saw him perform the national anthem piece at Sonar in 2000. Just off a 20something hour plane trip from Australia and totally jetlagged. So amazing.

[@joshroolf1966]

I hope he perceives your compliments in some dimension, or, I would want him too. Those are some remarkable sentiments to provoke in someone with your oeuvre; I feel it too, he should be proud of his work. I really like Kandinsky-like acoustical spaces, especially if they possess Escherian qualities and are at least 3 iterations of meta! Thank you for sharing this! In 84' I learned 'synthesizers' made the cool space noises in cartoons and became obsessed, though I couldn't read technical literature for a few more years. Now I keep imagining K.S. in discussion with Glenn Branca, with Eric Satie as a conversational moderator or maybe Alfred Jarry...::

[@welldrestghost]

Hainbach handing an audience member loose tape is like a rockstar guitarist throwing a pick into a crowd. It will go on a mantle, and the story of “the day I got Hainbach’s tape” will be become family folklore.

[@valley_robot]

Of all the synth guys , this man and Simon the magpie are the only ones not trying to sell you a new product , they actively encourage you to look at stuff in the skip/dumpster and see if it can make a noise , love it

[@alexanderhuliakov6012]

Don't forget the Look Mum No Computer!

[@alekstedstone9634]

There's a great channel called playpm that shows you how to replicate hardware synths (mostly grooveboxes) with a laptop and free software instead of bankrupting yourself buying an OP-1 /Syntakt / MPC One etc

[@RayZappa]

Wish I could find a Nagra 4.2 in a skip!

[@Niven42]

Ricky Tinez might be trying to get me to spend all my money at Perfect Circuit, but he's inspiring, too.

[@valley_robot]

@@gethelp6271 yeah that's bullshit

[@WayneLambrightIII]

I love those deep sounds at 40 minutes. I got my eye looking for an old tape machine. Thanks for sharing.

[@theozonechamber5122]

The moment we've all been waiting for.....42:10 "Let's try it at half speed" YES!!!!

[@bricelory9534]

There's the HAINBACH we know!

[@christianbachmann8206]

I was cheering from the side! Absolutely the best approach in general. YEEESSSS

[@Chuck-Bob]

The only course I didn't blow off to concentrate on calculus, the semester I was crashing and burning, was electro-acoustic music, I find this endlessly fascinating. Thank you so much for doing this Hainbach, I think of all the electo-acoustic composers, Stockhausen might be my fave. I've always been intrigued with how he created his works, with that sort of equipment, but never seen it in real time.

[@ernstmolenaar1630]

Creating a piece from scratch this way in front of an audience: respect! Great job, and very entertaining to watch! 👍🏻

[@pyerbass]

I was lucky to be in the room and I wont forget that low filter sweep resonating in the auditorium! thanks Hainbach! that was the highlight of superbooth!

[@cliftoncameron5632]

Amazing.

[@ProfessorHumblesDelusions]

Required viewing for every recording musician born after the rise of digital. What a crazy world we lived in back then.❤

[@Niven42]

The quality of the end result was actually pretty good. I'm amazed at the creepy and haunting feeling of early electronic music.

[@buschovski1]

oh its so beautiful and raw and real. haunting as you said.

[@hundovir]

I find it fascinating how beautiful atonality can be - and the mix of atonality and tonality (I love Takemitsu's music for example.)

[@BobbyGeneric145]

Check out early Velvet Underground experiments in atonality and drone music... Its amazing the complex interactions, like a Pollack.

[@corticallarvae]

atonal festival - zos kia/ coil live recordings

[@corticallarvae]

transparent

[@B9Robot]

Lovely, close my eyes with my surround system; I see my childhood with all the space shows and the music reminds me of all those wonderful sounds of my childhood. Thanks so much for sharing your talents and time with us all. Love those sounds..

[@J.P.N]

Danke ❤ Es ist einfach so Interessant was damals schon Möglich war😮 und heut zu Tage alles in eine DAW😅 Analog ist halt das beste 💯♥️

[@hoollehoop9299]

It’s still unbelievable to me that I can sit at home and watch things like this. Stop by for a cup of tea anytime

[@mylarmelodies]

This is delightful, instructive, and masterfully presented 🙌

[@JESSICA-qo7hz]

Loved the talk/demo! Ever since watching your videos, I've started saying "Generator" with the German pronunciation. Also speaking of pronunciation the word you're looking for, meticulous, is pronounced similarly to "ridiculous" ;)

[@PepijndeVos]

redisyules

[@afarfryproductions822]

"Stockhausen's Bass Drum" was so beautifully delicate in the higher ranges like a gentle giant St. Bernard picking up a small puppy

[@iLL.b]

Hi! Thanks for showing love for Stockhausen!!! :)

[@iLL.b]

Best artists, electronic music, It goes 1. Stockhausen, maybe not the best but best of the first... Verese annoys me "oh look guys, I cut up train noises . Like.. over n over... Like.. tons of trains.. like I don't stop recording trains.. it's nót neurotic.. no.. it's "avantgarde" lololol.... Duck his trains. 2 Venetian Snares. Cuz duck yes 3. Mr Nicole Blastman, the Randomatik French Menace himself, Dopest of the Dope, Destroyer God of Children's Electronic Toys, Turning Playtime into Bloodbaths of Bastardly Blasphemous Badassedness and Badman Boom Baps after a noseBurner Bump like Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! 3000 bpm. Also what is a magpie? 4. Me, aka StrangeFlow aka 5ifty$ix K aka tha.iLL.Bastard, filling caskets and chilling like a basket caser , the half-assed masterbater, happy to have your grandma a bit later, see what happens when we take off these rollerblades n I'll ask her for her favorite flavor, and maybe savor the favor, uh... 5. Idk. Parliament. They're dope. They got that brilliant keyboard guy. That dude's a genius of funk. Not enough genius of funk. Him, George, James brown, probably bootsy, and obviously me, the humble robotik deathlion

[@seedmole]

Cool to see this look at early electronic music. I've been aware of Stockhausen for years due to my interest in Can and their history, but I've never seen such a detailed look at how Stockhausen actually did things. The most remarkable part is that it's so similar to methods that still work with modern loopers and synths. Edit: nice to hear Holger specifically mentioned! Probably my biggest influence/inspiration.

[@peacefulmonke]

Great performance. Truly inspirational to see these methods live! Thanks, Hainbach.

[@NicleT]

Always wonderful to see you working your sound alchemy. I also find interesting the delicate 50Hz from the power line. I’m in Quebec and it’s 60Hz here and it doesn’t have the same “character” if I may say. Great video as always.

[@stuartchapman5171]

Use Audacity and slow it down. I'm fascinated with the sounds and signals hidden all around us. And using these basic techniques to tease out their beauty.

[@HANGINGOUTWITHAUDIOPHILES]

bravo! this is so hard to do live whilst giving such a compelling commentary. Loved every second

[@Hainbach]

Thank you Jamie!

[@seleniticdawn]

Love the Shadow of the Beast t-shirt. The artwork (especially Roger Dean's cover artwork) and music for that game has made a long lasting impression on me since childhood.

[@Hainbach]

I love it to bits! Sadly this is only a reprint that is already fading.

[@ndrinks5550]

@@Hainbach “ten pints” :-)

[@NicStage]

Even though it probably felt like a long time, it was a really nice presentation to show that this type of process isn't maybe as tedious as some might assume. More tedious that a DAW, of course. But to get a viable piece going solidly in under an hour is something I don't even achieve with the DAW sometimes.

[@cliftoncameron5632]

This is as real as it gets.

[@robguitarwizard]

Probably seemed even longer to HB when up on stage. He carried the whole thing well with a bit of humour.

[@clevv2727]

I find DAW wayyy more tedious than doing that whole process

[@Drinkyoghurt]

@@clevv2727 It's a double edged sword. DAW + Hardware and limited plugins has been my go to for creating things quickly and easily. No more looking through a million VST's. The Spitfire LABS plugin is a life saver.

[@Penglens]

Watching this wonderful wizard work his magic in real time was an unexpected delight. Thank you!

[@memorycurse1342]

hainbach you're great at public speaking. i love the passion you have and as always you're an inspiration.

[@dominey]

Loved this! Fascinating.

[@robguitarwizard]

Love this work Hainbach. You are a genius! Cheers from Australia!

[@TheNimasan]

it was a great event and this performance belongs to my top 3 form SP. 22 very grateful to have been there!

[@aphextwin6]

23:36 coil - strange birds Feeling inspired again. Thanks

[@hopelittwin]

Fantastic video thank you!

[@mmichaelhyatt]

What you played at full speed sounds like incidental music in the classic movie Forbidden Planet! Fascinating work. Thanks!

[@simonbaker4834]

Hainbach, du bist ein wizard! Love your experimental instruction.

[@electronicbagatelle]

I was too exhausted to attend the lecture and had to see a bit of Berlin too, glad you uploaded this :)

[@charlesz3phyr]

Such a treat Hainbach, thank you!

[@GFunkTube]

A great watch (and listen), thank you.

[@HiruS22]

Absolutely mesmerising!

[@DJCOUNSELLINGUK]

It was a pleasure to watch this live and was the highlight of my Superbooth :)

[@daronking4027]

I really enjoyed the experience, so warm and organic. Well done Sir

[@chalkboardguy226]

Absolutely fascinating and I love what you created.

[@vrensen1]

Bedankt

[@mpstrgc112]

This is fascinating stuff. Thank you kind person.

[@2.7petabytes]

What a treat!! Thank you Hainbach!! I very much enjoy the history and development of electronic music! I’ve been tinkering with electronic music since I was a kid in the 80’s! My grandfather was the first person I had ever seen with a synthesizer and tape machines, etc.

[@jonaslauer6567]

Wonderful demonstration and I think a very nice result.

[@dessiplaer]

You made a lot of really nice sounds in your improvised composition. They were very rich and interesting.

[@armucoartworks1732]

You're the best teacher of vintage electronic music on KZbin . Thanks for the Great Job.

[@nigelericogden3200]

Love the talk Hainbach … most interesting and very “mad professor ish” … thank you 🙏

[@PieterLaroy]

Super interesting talk and composition :-) THANK YOU!

[@cliftoncameron5632]

An absolute gift. Thank you for taking the time to inspire and show the magic of these early marvels in sound and creativity.

[@vabez00]

This is just wonderful. Congratulations and many thanks!

[@Jonatho1337]

That was amazing, I heard so much organic things like gongs and pianos speaking in a real life ambience. Just the hiss alone sounds like a calm summer breeze, but that's just quality gear I guess

[@mauromattei9779]

Hallo Heinbach, vielen Dank für diese Performances. Ich denke das hat wirklich ein echten Geschmack von der Vorschung von früher gegeben. Ich liebe das! Vielen Dank für was du machst Mauro

[@Hainbach]

Herzlichen Dank!

[@headfigure]

It would be fun indeed to hear also the audience reactions on such a great and rare presentation! 💘

[@DasDoktorchen]

You have such interesting different topics on you channel. Discover every day something interesting 😂 But what I like most are your travels back in time with stories and really old vintage gear. I own some old Vermona stuff but a lot of your gear gives a new definition of vintage 😂 Some of the sounds remember me of BBC radioworkshop.

[@royroger1984]

great as usual!! thank you!

[@trulyinfamous]

This is an awesome video. I love electronic/synth music from the late 60's to the early 80's. Mort Garson's Plantasia is one of my favorite albums. Jean Jacques Perrey made a lot of great stuff too. I have immense respect for those artists from so long ago, it definitely wasn't easy.

[@biaspoint1381]

Great demonstration!

[@hundovir]

You are endlessly inspirational. Thank you!

[@stuartchapman5171]

For me this is the best video yet. I use tape including a pair of old 70's battered Uher Reports, diy drones and pedals, radios etc. I also have a pair of 70's Farnell test tone generators. This has been so informative and inspirational. Not only on technique but ideas for building future fx and purchases.

[@neuzethmusic131]

Great stuff!!! I really find it important to know a little bit about the history of electronic music making. By the way, you're a splendid lecturer! Thanks for sharing!

[@Kopekemaster]

Absolutely love this presentation, Hainbach. I was introduced to Stockhausen in a college class and loved it (I forget what specific track I did a project on). I didn't make music at the time, I was just doing the class as an elective I found interesting, but as it happens, I've found myself making experimental (noise/drone sort of stuff mostly) and have only grown to appreciate the techniques of early electronic music even more.

[@henrikfisch]

I'm speachless ... LOVING THIS!!! 💖💖💖

[@yogawithdom]

Loved this! Literally thought the process was going to fail at any minute and the sonic results at the end were brilliant! Loved the effect of the UBM thing.

[@TheNaboen]

super interesting and brilliantly conveyed. Thank you

[@robguitarwizard]

After all my raving on I meant to say. This piece of music you ceated is brilliant; and particularly at half speed!

[@ultranoire1778]

Awesome video and an informative presentation again! Well done, thank you.

[@quinnryan3330]

Cool video dude

[@Nobody-hc2bo]

best lecture I never attended lol. What an awesome video

[@Luke_Mile]

I definitely think we all must be totally crazy, but for real, to hear this... But, personally, when the first sine started, something moved inside me... And the splices... Very very great for me. Thank you Hainbach for what you do... Thank you for sharing this experience.

[@YungCortex]

Dude nice! This was a great presentation, very entertaining to watch and educational! got some inspiration to doodle around after watching that

[@soundinmind]

I got a lot out of this presentation Hainbach, thank you!

[@mootbooxle]

fantastic presentation sir!

[@iosmusicman]

Nice one Hainbach. It took me back to my tape splicing in the ‘70s and I would not have dared to do it in front of a live audience. Bravo! Cheers. Lee

[@Stazma]

Awesome talk and demo !

[@FLH3official]

Excellent video. Hearing the creativ and technic process for such music in invaluable. Thank you, Scheremeister Hainbach!

[@grandmasterbeatz]

Awesome can’t wait to watch this one!

[@heechee3658]

So cozy. I'm really enjoyed

[@illustriouschin]

Finger Envelope: Move the faders and knobs with your finger! 😅 Great show!

[@unduloid]

It's basically what guitarists do when they make ambient swells using a volume pedal.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Haken Continuum has finger envelopes that can be modified by formulas.

[@markushalbig3457]

This is awesome 👏 and the technical gear reminds me of the stuff we used in the Physik-LK at school 🏫 😂.

[@evenmind-music]

Und nun geht’s auf Sample-Schatzsuche aus diesem Video! :) Vielen Dank, echt interessant!

[@bricelory9534]

Lovely presentation! And a great work of art, especially how the presentation became the piece and the piece was the presentation. Excellently done!

[@jackgrimwood4004]

Just wonderful , I love it

[@benamad]

Great video, ❤ thanks.

[@Caramel_Chameleon_]

Amazing!! Thanks ❤️

[@geneberlin1]

Great show - sadly I missed to see it live

[@jeanbonnefoy1377]

Once more, danke sehr Hainbach for this nice improvisation bringing me back to my 20s (in the early 70s) when I was happily messing with 2 Revoxes, 2 Akais and one Nagra trying to emulate my French idols (and for some, friends and even neighbours), Pierre Henry, François Bayle or Bernard Parmegiani... Happy days up memory lane. It was just before I went full steam ahead the VC/gate patch-cable way....

[@kgbinfo]

This was fantastic! Thank you so much for shedding some light on a very dark and mysterious art! I’m in the mood to splice some tapes now…

[@meddle333]

Loved this!

[@SidRockett]

Very informative and well presented lecture. Thank you mister Goetsch!

[@OctoberMusicIsLife]

thank you so much for this interesting video. You always teach me new stuff

[@IntiAlonso]

This was mesmerizing, what an amazing conference!

[@monaldomoretti]

Great... It's fantastic and ghostly

[@esbjornakesson3412]

Wonderful!

[@andresgrumann4079]

Elektronische Musik is about the process, very nice, cheers Hainbach!

[@AgonalRhythm]

The low note sweep that you bring in for part 4 shocked and delighted me. Absolutely fascinating. I can see how this would be very meditative.

[@mathieudehouck9657]

Pure Inspiration! Danke

[@fecktoph]

Wonderful presentation hugely inspiring work ,thank you !

[@marc-alexandretozzi1609]

I use to study electroacoustic in Montréal a few years ago and I always thought it was so complicated making music with tapes the way my teacher explained how he did back in the 70-80’s. Amazing work watching you speed run the process!

[@temporoboto]

This is next level stuff right here!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Hainbach.