Introduction
This page explains how to search for books on electronic and digital music using the library catalog. The box below includes call numbers for browsing and recommended subject headings so that you can do some searching on your own. If you don't know where to start and want to see a selection of what the Library has available, check out the box at the bottom of this page.
Search Tips
Conducting a keyword search in the library catalog is always a great place to start. Use the "Material Type" filter on the right of the "Advanced Search" screen to limit your results to "Books."
After finding a relevant book in the catalog, use the topics (listed in the subject field of the record) to find related materials. At this point, if you've identified several promising materials that have the same subjects listed, consider clicking on any of the subject headings to launch a new search for similarly classified items.
You can also try searching by subject heading to start.
Search broadly by using subjects like: Electronic Music, Video Game Music
Or try more specific subjects like: Electronic Music--Instruction and Study, Computer Music--History and Criticism, Music and Technology
Remember to always take a look at the topics listed in the catalog record to get hints for searching! For a more exhaustive list of call number ranges to browse and suggested subject headings, see the Tips for Exploring the Collection box on the "Getting Started" page.
Selected Books from the Catalog
Between the Tracks by Call Number: Online ResourceThis collection of writings on electronic music goes outside the canon to analyze influential works by under-recognized musicians. The contributors, many of whom are composers and performers themselves, offer their unsung musical heroes the sort of in-depth examinations usually reserved for more well-known composers and works. They analyze music from around the world and across genders, race, nationality, and age, discussing works that range from soundscapes of rushing water and resonating pipes to compositions by algorithm.
Future Sounds: the story of electronic music from Stockhausen to Skrillex by Call Number: MPAL ML1380 .S78 2018Stubbs charts the evolution of electronic music from the earliest mechanical experiments in the late nineteenth century to the pre-World War I inventions of the Futurist Luigi Russolo, author of the “Art Of Noises” manifesto. He takes us through the musique concrète of radical composers such as Edgard Varèse, Pierre Schaeffer, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, to the gradual absorption of electronic instrumentation into the mainstream: be it through the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the work of pioneers like Delia Derbyshire, grandiose prog rock, or the more DIY approach of electronica, house, and techno.
Teaching Electronic Music: Cultural, Creative, and Analytical Perspectives by Call Number: MPAL ML1380 .T43 2022Electronic music presents unique possibilities and challenges to instructors of music history courses, calling for careful attention to creative curricula, historiographies, repertoires, and practices. Teaching Electronic Music features practical models of instruction as well as paths for further inquiry, identifying untapped methodological directions with broad interest and wide applicability.
The Cognitive Continuum of Electronic Music by Call Number: Online ResourceBased on an extensive listening study conducted over four years, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the cognitive processes involved in the experience of electronic music. It pairs artistic practice with theories from a range of disciplines to communicate how this music operates on perceptual, conceptual, and affective levels.
Popular Music in the Nostalgia Video Game: The Way It Never Sounded by Call Number: MPAL ML3540.7 .I83 2019This book looks at the uses of popular music in the newly-redefined category of the nostalgia game, exploring the relationship between video games, popular music, nostalgia, and socio-cultural contexts. History, gender, race, and media all make significant appearances in this interdisciplinary work, as it explores what some of the most critically acclaimed games of the past two decades tell us about our relationship to our past and our future.
Unlimited Replays: video games and classical music by Call Number: Online ResourceClassical music is everywhere in video games. Works by composers like Bach and Mozart fill the soundtracks of games ranging from arcade classics, to indie titles, to major franchises like BioShock, Civilization, and Fallout. Delving into the shifting and often contradictory cultural definitions that emerge when classical music meets video games, Unlimited Replays offers a new perspective on the possibilities and challenges of trying to distinguish between art and pop culture in contemporary society.
Nostalgia and Videogame Music: A Primer of Case Studies, Theories, and Analyses for the Player-Academic by Call Number: SSHEL ML3540.7 .N67 2022The first multi-disciplinary study of the connection between memory and music in video games. Informed by research on musicology, memory, and practices of gaming culture, this edited volume discusses different forms of nostalgia, considers how videogames display their relation to those forms, and explores the ways theoretically self-conscious positions can be found in games.
The legend of Zelda : ocarina of time : a game music companion by Call Number: MPAL ML3540.7 .S86 2021The most extensive investigation into the music of a single game yet undertaken, this book serves three important primary purposes: first, it provides a historical-critical account of the music of an important video game text; second, it uses this investigation to explore wider issues in music and media studies (including interactivity, fan cultures, and music and technology); and third, it serves as a model for future in-depth studies of video game music.
Music in the Role-Playing Game: Heroes & Harmonies by Call Number: Main Stacks ML3540.7 .M876 2020Music in the Role-Playing Game: Heroes & Harmonies offers the first scholarly approach focusing on music in the broad class of video games known as role-playing games, or RPGs. The chapters in this volume address the role of music in popular RPGs such as Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft, delving into how music interacts with the gaming environment to shape players' perceptions and engagement.
