concrete music: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1/C2Academic, Artistic, Technical
Quick answer
What does “concrete music” mean?
A type of musical composition created by recording and manipulating natural, environmental, or mechanical sounds rather than using traditional musical instruments or voices.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A type of musical composition created by recording and manipulating natural, environmental, or mechanical sounds rather than using traditional musical instruments or voices.
An avant-garde musical movement originating in the mid-20th century that treats recorded sound as primary compositional material, often through editing, tape manipulation, and electronic processing, fundamentally challenging traditional notions of melody, harmony, and instrumental performance.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is identical in both dialects, as it is a technical, loaned term from French ('musique concrète').
Connotations
Carries strong connotations of mid-20th century avant-garde experimentation, academic electronic music studios, and a specific historical movement in sound art.
Frequency
Very low frequency in general discourse; almost exclusively used in academic musicology, sound art criticism, and histories of electronic music.
Grammar
How to Use “concrete music” in a Sentence
[Composer] pioneered concrete music by [activity]The piece is a classic example of concrete musicSchaeffer's experiments led to the development of concrete musicVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “concrete music” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was influenced by the techniques of concrete music.
- His thesis explores the ontological debates sparked by early concrete music.
American English
- Concrete music challenged the very definition of what constituted an instrument.
- The festival featured a retrospective on classic concrete music from the 1950s.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Primary context. Used in music history, media studies, and cultural theory to denote a specific historical practice and philosophy of sound.
Everyday
Extremely rare. Would only be used when discussing very niche artistic topics.
Technical
The defining context. Used precisely to describe a methodology of working directly with recorded sound sources, distinct from electronic synthesis.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “concrete music”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “concrete music”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “concrete music”
- Using it as a general synonym for any electronic or loud music.
- Pronouncing 'concrete' with primary stress on the first syllable (CON-crete music) instead of the standard pattern for the adjective (con-CRETE music).
- Confusing it with 'concrete poetry', which is a related but distinct avant-garde concept in literature.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Concrete music is a specific subset or historical precursor to broader electronic music. Its key distinction is the use of recorded acoustic sound sources as its raw material. Electronic music, broadly, can include sounds generated purely by electronic oscillators and synthesizers, which are 'abstract' in Schaeffer's terms.
While the term is most historically specific to the mid-20th century, its practices and philosophy are foundational to contemporary fields like soundscape composition, plunderphonics, and much of modern electroacoustic and acousmatic music. Artists may still describe their work as being in the 'concrete' tradition.
The term was coined by Pierre Schaeffer to contrast with 'abstract' traditional music. In traditional music, abstract symbols (notes) are written for abstract classes of instruments. In 'musique concrète', the composer works directly with the 'concrete' reality of a specific, recorded sound object.
Pioneers used turntables (playing closed-groove discs for loops), tape recorders (for cutting, splicing, and speed manipulation), basic filters, and reverberation chambers. The studio itself, with its editing tables and playback systems, became the primary instrument.
A type of musical composition created by recording and manipulating natural, environmental, or mechanical sounds rather than using traditional musical instruments or voices.
Concrete music is usually academic, artistic, technical in register.
Concrete music: in British English it is pronounced /ˌkɒŋ.kriːt ˈmjuː.zɪk/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌkɑːn.kriːt ˈmjuː.zɪk/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[None specific. The term itself functions as a fixed technical phrase.]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'concrete' as something solid and real you can touch. Concrete music uses 'real', recorded sounds as its building blocks, not abstract notes on a page.
Conceptual Metaphor
SOUND AS OBJECT / MUSIC AS CONSTRUCTION (The recorded sound is treated as a concrete object to be assembled and shaped, constructing a piece like building with physical materials.)
Practice
Quiz
What is the central compositional material of concrete music?