I’m writing this book because I wish it existed when I was getting into making Braindance / IDM. The technology is easy to get your hands on, but no one shows how you how to apply the technical ideas and what to do with the tools. Microsound is cool, but using it to make glitch music requires immersing yourself in the tools, learning for yourself what creates the desirable sounds for glitch music — there needs to be a better presentation, an adaptation of all these technical methods and ideas to something creative so that electronic music and sound design is more approachable for people who’ve never done it before.
To me, I think of IDM not as a style, but an approach to electronic music that presents experimental sound design and compositional techniques in the context of techno. This book frames sound synthesis methods and alternative tunings in the context of IDM in order to make these concepts practical and applicable for intermediate electronic music composers. Access to music technology is universal for anyone with a computer, but education isn’t. To write this book, I conducted endless experiments in SuperCollider and studied computer music textbooks to discover what’s useful. Through experimentation, I found that certain tools suit certain purposes — but if one piece of intellectual advice is missing, the results can be boring or hideous. This book aims to give intermediate electronic music producers advice on how to think more critically about their sound design choices. For true beginners without any music or technology background, this book might be too advanced — you might benefit more from starting with foundational music theory, especially if you struggle to create melodic or harmonic content. Although IDM compositions tend to be simple theory-wise, they're still strong compositions. You need a stable structural base to build the complex sound design.
.PP
I mean I understand in electronic music that the culture has an attitude of DIY, secrecy, and “you should figure it out on your own” — but I’m kinda against that. Composers should be more open.
.PP
And also I don’t believe that sound design is “just vibes”. There are rules, things that will always work, things that just sound bad, and ways of structuring your composition that make it interesting.
.HEADING 1 "What is IDM"
.HEADING 1 "What is IDM"
.PP
.PP
IDM stands for Intelligent Dance Music, otherwise knowns as Braindance for less pretensious-sounding intentions. It's the most ridiculous name you could give a genre, but it stuck. The goal of IDM as opposed to techno is to work the brain instead of the feet, though it still grooves.
.PP
To me, I think of IDM not as a style, but an approach to electronic music that presents experimental sound design and compositional techniques in the context of techno \[em] (cite notable IDM producers calling their music techno).
.PP
IDM originated in the UK, though there’s also some really good stuff from Germany (Mille Plateaux) and Japan (19-t), other places not as much.
.HEADING 2 "But what exactly makes a piece IDM?"
.HEADING 2 "But what exactly makes a piece IDM?"
.BL
.BL
.LI Studio-focused, not real-time
.LI Studio-focused, not real-time
.LI Usually created by one or two people
.LI Experimental sound design that pushes sonic boundaries
.LI Experimental sound design that pushes sonic boundaries
.LI Relatively accessible structure despite how advanced the sound design gets
.LI Relatively accessible structure despite how advanced the sound design gets
.LI Constant subtle variation, whether in structure or texture
.LI Constant subtle variation, whether in structure or texture
.LI Strong ties to hacker culture (think Chaos Computer Club), cyberpunk aesthetics (think *Pi* [1998], *Serial Experiments Lain* [1998]), the demoscene, video art, tech art
.LI Based on inventing your own techniques
.LI Dense, layered compositions that demand extensive time investment \[em] sometimes requiring breaks (days, weeks, months) from the composition due to sensory exhaustion
.LI Every sound is an opportunity
.LI Idiosyncratic production and synthesis methods, polyrhythms, alternative tunings
.BL OFF
.BL OFF
.HEADING 3 "Everything has rhythm"
.PP
In IDM, rhythm isn’t confined to the percussion. It’s embedded in the way melodies are sequenced, in the modulation of parameters, in sample triggering, and even in spatial effects like reverb and delay.
.PP
Unlike genres such as indie rock, shoegaze, or traditional ambient -- where rhythm can be loose, implied, or absent — IDM makes rhythm foundational to every layer. Even a pad might pulse, wobble, or glitch in time. This attention to rhythmic detail gives IDM its sense of precision, movement, and microstructure — it feels like the entire track is breathing in sync with itself. Each layer is interacting with each other dynamically.
\" Interesting. Good writing. You’re off to a strong start. I can see how it will be a useful overview of the genres and sub genres as well as practical application on how to get started. I agree that having more examples in there for analysis would be useful. I also had a question about the opening section about rhythm. With the limited experience I have with IDM, I’m used to hearing four on the floor, quarter notes in some kind of bass sound, with a lot of subdivision from 8th to 16th to 32nd and into those rolls. Do you think it would be useful to break down subdivision in that section? Later you talk about syncopation in a different section. I wonder if that might be connected to the opening? (My dad)
Early IDM used a lot of four on the floor beats, but when it evolved, there’s a lot more polyrhythms, glitchy syncopation, using the drums as lead instruments. You see it evolve from a composition like Xtal by RDJ to Acroyear by Autechre and Windo05 by Utabi.
.HEADING 3 "Counterpoint"
.PP
A really key thing also is counterpoint, almost every IDM composition starts with one thing, takes it out, then reintroduces it towards the end of the song. What's also common is using drones to allow the listener to focus on the textural variation.
.HEADING 3 "Mixing as an instrument"
.PP
In IDM, mixing isn’t just a post-production step -- it’s an integral part of the compositional process. Most IDM artists mix their own music, not just out of necessity, but because the mix is the music.
.PP
Where traditional genres might rely on a mixing engineer to polish and finalize a track, IDM treats mixing as an expressive layer: levels, EQs, panning, spatialization, and dynamics are sculpted with the same intentionality as melody or rhythm.
.PP
This approach stems partly from a DIY ethic and partly from aesthetic choice. When your music involves glitchy textures, hyper-detailed layering, or precise spatial illusions, no one but the composer can truly know how it’s meant to feel.
.PP
Modulation isn't all done by hand, sometimes it's an envelope or an LFO -- but it's always thought through.
.HEADING 3 "Everything is an instrument"
.PP
From radiator samples to impulse responses for convolution. This is the most tech-heavy music you can possibly get into.
.HEADING 2 "What is Glitch Music?"
.PP
Glitch can mean two things, pure or aesthetic. Sounds derived from technological glitches is pure (Yasunao Tone) or music that embraces an aesthetic of clicks and cuts, syncopation that sounds like holes (Fell and Utabi being fine examples), microsound techniques, junk sounds repurposed and sequenced is aesthetically glitch.
.PP
What makes glitch interesting as a genre is that computers have become a tool for further deconstruction; it turns machines designed for precision into expressive collaborators.
.HEADING 2 "What is Ambient Music?"
.\" Placeholder for future content
.PP
"As ignorable as it is engaging." - Eno
.HEADING 2 "Survey of IDM"
.HEADING 2 "Survey of IDM"
.\" Placeholder for future content
\" <important artists, albums, labels, their lineage / history too>
.PP
<important artists, albums, labels, their lineage / history too>
.HEADING 1 "How do I approach making IDM"
.PP
No sounds are wrong -- only lacking context. A harsh noise can be made beautiful with the right timing, contrast, or development.
.PP
Music theory can be used to make IDM, though it's not the focus. Though some beginners would really benefit from using scales and modes if they've identified a struggle with creating melodic narratives or harmonies.
.PP
Yeah, the world of experimental music is very free, but you need to understand your tools if you wish to create intentional works that affect people.
.HEADING 1 "What instruments should I use?"
.HEADING 1 "What instruments should I use?"
@ -129,56 +52,6 @@ Part of electronic music is designing your own instrument, even if that means us
.PP
.PP
This book will give you ideas for achieving certain aesthetics and compositional approaches that will hopefully lead you into developing your own voice.
This book will give you ideas for achieving certain aesthetics and compositional approaches that will hopefully lead you into developing your own voice.
.HEADING 2 "What tools might I use and how do I use them?"
.HEADING 3 "For knowledge:"
.LIST BULLET
.ITEM
*The Computer Music Tutorial* (revised edition) by Curtis Roads
.ITEM
*Microsound* by Curtis Roads
.ITEM
*Structure and Synthesis* by Mark Fell
.LIST OFF
.HEADING 3 "For computing:"
.LIST BULLET
.ITEM
NixOS
.LIST OFF
.HEADING 3 "For sound design:"
.LIST BULLET
.ITEM
SuperCollider
.LIST OFF
.HEADING 3 "For composition:"
.LIST BULLET
.ITEM
A piano roll for tonal composition -- a keyboard won't give you dense, inhuman, rhythmic precision
.ITEM
A non-step sequencer -- for programming non-quantized loose sequences and sampling drum breaks
.ITEM
A step sequencer -- for stable percussion (a Variable Width Sequencer is another option that I haven't dabbled in)
.ITEM
A midi CC controller
.LIST OFF
.HEADING 3 "For microtonality:"
.LIST BULLET
.ITEM
Sevish tuning pack
.ITEM
Xenharmonic wiki
.ITEM
Scale Workshop 2
.LIST OFF
.COLLATE
.COLLATE
@ -211,7 +84,7 @@ Creative examples or exercises that spark exploration
.HEADING 1 microsound
.HEADING 1 microsound
.BLOCKQUOTE
.BLOCKQUOTE
Granular synthesis is based on the idea that a steady-state waveform with its time-invarient spectrum, although mathematically convenient, is a physical impossibility because a waveform cannot exist for all time. It stems from a theory of acoustical quanta postulated by Gabor, which recognizes that aural perception is performed in the time and frequency domains simutaneously. In this technique, the fundamental compositional elements that are used to to weave the sound are /grains/: small bursts of energy encased in an envelope. This term is attributed to I. Xenakis who detailed an extensive theory of grain selection.
Granular synthesis is based on the idea that a steady-state waveform with its time-invariant spectrum, although mathematically convenient, is a physical impossibility because a waveform cannot exist for all time. It stems from a theory of acoustical quanta postulated by Gabor, which recognizes that aural perception is performed in the time and frequency domains simutaneously. In this technique, the fundamental compositional elements that are used to to weave the sound are /grains/: small bursts of energy encased in an envelope. This term is attributed to I. Xenakis who detailed an extensive theory of grain selection.
