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+.\" Use groff -Kutf8 -mom -Tpdf 01-intro.mom > out.pdf
+.mom
+.AUTHOR "Leonard Francis Coogan"
+.TITLE "Sound Hacking: Composing Braindance / IDM: Chapter 1"
+.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
+.papersize letter
+.DOCTYPE DEFAULT
+.START
+
+.HEADING 1 "What is IDM"
+
+.PP
+IDM stands for Intelligent Dance Music, other wise 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?"
+
+.BL
+.LI Studio-focused, not real-time
+.LI Usually created by one or two people
+.LI Experimental sound design that pushes sonic boundaries
+.LI Relatively accessible structure despite how advanced the sound design gets
+.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 Dense, layered compositions that demand extensive time investment \[em] sometimes requiring breaks (days, weeks, months) from the composition due to sensory exhaustion
+.LI Idiosyncratic production and synthesis methods, polyrhythms, alternative tunings
+.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.
+
+.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
+The mix becomes a way to shape how elements interact -- what's dry, what’s smeared in reverb, what pops out transiently, what’s buried and whispering. It’s about balance, but also about narrative, tension, and intimacy.
+
+.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
+
+.HEADING 2 "Survey of IDM"
+
+.\" Placeholder for future content
+.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?"
+
+.PP
+Finding your instrument isn’t a one-time decision -- it’s a process of discovery and reinvention. It's about whatever appeals to you, whatever you can get your hands on.
+
+.PP
+Part of electronic music is designing your own instrument, even if that means using another instrument to do that – credit to my friend Zach for saying that.
+
+.HEADING 2 "If part of electronic music is designing my own instrument, how do I know where to start?"
+
+.PP
+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