
The Composer's Black Box
Making Music in Cybernetic America
Theodore Gordon(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 2. December 2025
Book
Hardback
286 pages
978-0-520-41018-3 (ISBN)
Description
Stories about new musical instruments are often told as quests for new kinds of sounds. The Composer's Black Box asks, What happens when new musical instruments produce not only new sounds but also new dynamics of musical agency and control? And what consequences do those new dynamics have for musicality beyond sound? With a focus on five key figures-Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, Donald Buchla, Alvin Lucier, and Sun Ra-this book explores how scientific and technological developments in mid-twentieth-century America galvanized musicians to reconfigure their conceptions of sociality, freedom, and the creative self. Theodore Gordon shows how cybernetic thinking in a range of disciplines, from experimental music to jazz and electrical engineering, has shaped musical techniques and technologies and changed what it means to be a composer-or, more broadly, a music-making human-in an increasingly informational world.
More details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
20 b-w figures
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
576 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-41018-3 (9780520410183)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2025
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€28.99
Available for download
Person
Theodore Gordon is Assistant Professor of Music at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York.