musique concrete
Low (Technical)Formal, Academic, Technical, Artistic
Definition
Meaning
A form of electroacoustic music created by recording, manipulating, and assembling real-world sounds ("concrete sounds") rather than using traditional musical instruments.
A pioneering genre of 20th-century experimental music that uses recorded environmental and industrial noises, processed through electronic means (cutting, splicing, looping, tape reversal, speed change) to create musical compositions. It emphasizes the sonic qualities of the source material itself.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is used as a noun phrase (e.g., 'a piece of musique concrète'). It is a fixed loan phrase from French and retains its original spelling with the accent. It refers both to the historical movement pioneered by Pierre Schaeffer and to the general compositional technique.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or use. It is a technical, borrowed term used identically in both varieties.
Connotations
Connotes high-art experimentalism, mid-20th-century avant-garde, and academic musicology in both cultures.
Frequency
Equally rare in both dialects, confined to specialist contexts in music, sound art, and academic discussion.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[composer] composed a seminal work of musique concrète.The piece is an example of musique concrète.The techniques of musique concrète influenced later genres.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “It's not musique concrète, it's just noise. (informal, dismissive)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Common in musicology, sonic arts, and media studies papers discussing 20th-century avant-garde.
Everyday
Extremely rare; would only appear in conversations about experimental art or music history.
Technical
Standard term in sound engineering, composition, and electronic music history.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- They musique concrèt-ed the sounds of the London Underground.
- The piece was musique concrèt-ed from railway recordings.
American English
- He musique concrèt-ed field recordings from the city.
- The artist musique concrèt-es found sounds.
adverb
British English
- The piece was composed musique-concrètely.
- (Rarely used)
American English
- He works musique-concrètely, using only environmental sounds.
- (Rarely used)
adjective
British English
- The musique-concrète aesthetic influenced British radio drama.
- It was a musique-concrète piece.
American English
- She has a musique-concrète approach to composition.
- The festival featured a musique-concrète workshop.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- (Not applicable for A2 level. Term is C1+.)
- (Not applicable for B1 level. Term is C1+.)
- Musique concrète uses sounds from the real world.
- The composer is famous for his musique concrète.
- Pierre Schaeffer's early experiments with turntables laid the groundwork for musique concrète.
- The piece is a classic example of musique concrète, constructed entirely from manipulated train noises.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think CONCRETE sounds: like the sound of a hammer on concrete, recorded and turned into music.
Conceptual Metaphor
SOUND IS RAW MATERIAL (to be sculpted, assembled, constructed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating it literally as "бетонная музыка". It is a fixed term. Use the direct borrowing "мюзик конкрет" or the descriptive "конкретная музыка" (the established term in Russian art contexts).
Common Mistakes
- Spelling it as 'concrete music' in formal writing (though this is an acceptable loose description).
- Pronouncing 'concrète' as the English word 'concrete' /ˈkɒŋkriːt/.
- Confusing it with later electronic music made with synthesizers.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary source material for musique concrète?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. 'Concrete' here refers to the source material being 'concrete sounds'—tangible, real-world recorded sounds—as opposed to 'abstract' musical notes written on paper.
It is a specific, foundational subset of electronic/electroacoustic music. All musique concrète is electronic music, but not all electronic music is musique concrète, as the latter is defined by its use of recorded concrete sounds.
The French composer and engineer Pierre Schaeffer is credited with founding the genre in the late 1940s at the Studio d'Essai of Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) in Paris.
In English, it is typically anglicised: /mjuːˌziːk kɒnˈkret/ (myoo-ZEEK kon-KRET). The French pronunciation is closer to /my.zik kɔ̃.kʁɛt/.