Sound Art: Concepts and Practices

Sound Art offers the first comprehensive introduction to sound art written for undergraduate students.

Bridging and blending aspects of the visual and sonic arts, modern sound art first emerged in the early 20th century and has grown into a thriving and varied field. In 13 thematic chapters, this book enables students to clearly grasp both the concepts behind this unique area of art, and its history and practice. Each chapter begins with an exploration of key ideas and theories, followed by an in-depth discussion of selected relevant works, both classic and current.

Drawing on a broad, diverse range of examples, and firmly interdisciplinary, this book will be essential reading for anyone studying or teaching the theory, history, appreciation, or practice of sound art.

Thom Holmes is a music historian and composer. He studied composition with Paul Epstein in Philadelphia, was the longtime publisher of the magazine Recordings of Experimental Music (1979-85), authored the book Electronic and Experimental Music (Routledge), and worked with John Cage. He curates a podcast called The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music during which he explores vintage recordings of electronic music and has conversations with sound artists. He was a member of Composers Inside Electronics during 2014-15, an electronic music performing ensemble dedicated to the realization of works by David Tudor. Holmes also produces a personal blog Noise and Notations and has written a blog called Moog: A History in Recordings, for the Bob Moog Foundation.