# An Academic question: What is Techno music?



## Yokenthwate (Feb 18, 2013)

Hello,

I was hoping you could answer a few questions for a collage paper I am writing. I know my answer to this question but I'm aware that many people have different views on the term "techno music" and I'm looking to see if the answer varies at all in terms of general interest in the music/clubbing scene and geographical location. I also would like to know why or not you like it.

I will be posting this question on a small variety of forums to cover different demographics.

Please also just simply reply to my thread and don't read other responses until you have submitted yours. Also just write your answer from the top of your head. I just want your initial thoughts without you thinking too much about it. 

Many Thanks to those who participate

J

Questions:
*What is Techno music (2 sentences max)
*Where do you live? (just the part of the country you live in is enough)
*Do you like Techno music? Why (2 sentences max. If you think its interesting/boring please say why)

Note to forum moderators: I appreciate that this question might be slightly off topic for the forum i put it in, but I would ask you to leave it for a while as I want it visible to the majority of readers. If it gets lots of answers or none at all then by all means put it in the forum you think it would be most appropriate. Many Thanks


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

I like supporting student projects  good luck with your writing!

Here are my answers
1. Music produced either only from computer-generated sounds or computer-generated plus human vocal, produced mainly for the purpose of dancing, with a strong kick-drum or other percussion-like sound on the beat every beat, tempo 100-144 bpm (roughly the range of a human heartbeat while excited and/or dancing vigorously)
2. USA / northeastern
3. Yes, in small doses for a change of pace. I find classical to be the most intellectually interesting and emotionally moving music I can find, so I like it best and listen to it most of the time, but not all the time.


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## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

Techno music? Some rubbish.


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## Yokenthwate (Feb 18, 2013)

Rapide said:


> Techno music? Some rubbish.


OK, but most importantly -WHY is is rubbish?

Thanks


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

1. A genre of music that emerged in the 1980's--heavily characteristic of repetitive, computer-generated instrumental sounds to a quick, prominent beat. 
2. Florida, USA
3. I do not like techno music because it lacks harmonic complexity, which is something that I enjoy most in my music. Classical music is almost exclusively my preferred music.

I hope this is helpful for your paper.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

1. Techno is a genre that emerged in Detroit, influenced by disco and other afro-influenced genres. It's characterized by almost minimalistic repetition, primitive computer-generated or computer-modified sounds, a grungy futuristic aesthetic, and a steady beat between 100bpm and 140bpm that is usually (but not always) marked by either percussion or an ostinato.
2. Northwest USA
3. I do like it because it excels at expressing the aesthetic idea it was intended to express, one which seems to be still relevant today.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

1. unce, unce, unce, unce, with more emphasis on the rhythm than house music and less build up than trance
2. Cardiff
3. Some of it, especially if it has a dark atmosphere. A lot of it is terrible though. Good techno can put you in a trance, I go to raves in London occasionally. Prefer drum and bass overall.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Combine hip hop and Electronic and you get Techno. It is definitely rubbish.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Combine hip hop and Electronic and you get Techno. It is definitely rubbish.


Uh... You've never actually listened to techno, have you? That or you've never listened to hip hop.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> Combine hip hop and Electronic and you get Techno. It is definitely rubbish.


Where do I begin with whats wrong with this? Well, first of all, alot of Hip-Hop is in the field of electronic music in a sense because of sampling (not to mention the common use of synthesizers). Secondly "Electronic" isn't a narrow genre. It is a vast idiom. It includes Daft Punk, and Aphex Twin, and Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and music written for Miku Hatsune, and Frank Zappa's syclavier works, and Gary Numan and Nine Inch Nails, and The Human League, and Kanye West and DJ Shadow. Like classical, its really not a genre, more of an idiom. Techno is a form of electronic music, but it doesn't really have a whole lot in common with hip-hop in general (not that music can't blur those pointless genre barriers anyway). Techno is a form of electronic dance music.

Claims of entire fields of music being rubbish are derp. It would be like me saying metal is rubbish. Total garbage. Almost as crappy and worthless as trash Baroque composers like Vivaldi.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

BurningDesire said:


> Claims of entire fields of music being rubbish are derp. It would be like me saying metal is rubbish. Total garbage. Almost as crappy and worthless as trash Baroque composers like Vivaldi.


But they appeal to my white middle class sensibilities!


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Crudblud said:


> Uh... You've never actually listened to techno, have you? That or you've never listened to hip hop.


They got one thing in common. They both have that annoying beat.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> They got one thing in common. They both have that annoying beat.


Yeah, cause no other music has A BEAT XD

Also, Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is bluegrass. Hey, they both got that fiddle :3


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Yeah since those are similar comparisons.  That annoying repetitive bassy beat.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

Hip-hop's beat is usually sampled from funk and jazz records. It's nothing like techno.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> They got one thing in common. They both have that annoying beat.


Techno is highly repetitive, yes, but hip hop has a lot of different beats, probably all of which do not sound like techno. The old electroclash beats (more repetitive, but again; nothing like techno) of the 80s gave way to wider range of rhythms from all over the world during the 90s. Recently the TR-808 drum machine has seen a resurgence, and much of the trap rap scene (Lil B, Soulja Boy Tellem etc.) tends to feature more rhythmic homogenisation because of its heavy reliance on the machine, but it doesn't sound like techno.

If you're saying that this or this sound like this, then I'm not sure what to tell you.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Get the All Music Guide to Electronica.

To all intolerant critics of "other" music: It's unfair to compare techno to classical. The priorities are different, musically as well as socially.

These short, pithy answers such as "Some rubbish" exemplify bad musicology, and intolerance to diversity. 
Just as in a natural ecosystem, we need diversity to create a healthy musical environment for everyone. 
Don't be a "hater." Be tolerant, because the music you dislike might be the reinforcing element in a person's identity/lifestyle. 
You're not opposed to ethnic and racial diversity, are you? This is America, and we don't tolerate *"musical racism"* very easily.

Lastly, why post about techno in a classical thread? You should go back to your peer group for validation of your music; not everyone here is as nice as I am. :lol:

That is, unless you're trying to end "musical segregation." Bring on the fire-hoses and German shepherds!:lol:


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Haha I'm getting double teamed. I think I'll leave this thread. Such boring music though. I prefer the Pink Floyd influenced Electronic music of the 70's.


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## Schubussy (Nov 2, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> Haha I'm getting double teamed. I think I'll leave this thread. Such boring music though. I prefer the Pink Floyd influenced Electronic music of the 70's.


Pink Floyd beat





A Tribe Called Quest beat





I mean the drums are louder but apart from that...


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Quite a difference between those 2. The first is beauty. The second is something awful.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Never thought I'd agree with Millionrainbows and disagree with Neoshredder, but I do.

@Neoshredder: The second is intended to express something completely different from the first. Something more common, something sadder, something more people can relate to. (And something surprisingly meta.) While the first is an expression of a more philosophical concept, the second is an escape from a harsh reality. It's something by the people and for the people. Hip hop and EDM are mostly created by regular people with bad lives. There's no fantasy or lofty philosophy to it, as there is to the music we prefer, but that doesn't make it inherently awful.


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

Techno = intelligent, industrial dance music. Have been my favorite genre for many years. Mix ambient, futurustic sounds and a pulse and you got techno. T


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

It is awful to my ears. I cringe when listening to that type of music. The same goes for techno.


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

I do think you have heard techno


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Yes. It is electronic dance music. Lacking the creativity that some other Electronic Music has going for it. I just don't like dance music.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> Yes. It is electronic dance music. Lacking the creativity that some other Electronic Music has going for it. I just don't like dance music.


So you don't like those Baroque orchestral dance suites? :3 or Beethoven's German Dances?


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

BurningDesire said:


> So you don't like those Baroque orchestral dance suites? :3 or Beethoven's German Dances?


I love a good Allemande or Gavotte.



neoshredder said:


> It is awful to my ears. I cringe when listening to that type of music. The same goes for techno.


Fair enough; everyone has their own opinion and reaction. Don't think your poor opinion of the music means it's "rubbish," though. "I don't like it" is way different from "it's bad music."


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

BurningDesire said:


> So you don't like those Baroque orchestral dance suites? :3 or Beethoven's German Dances?


I should've been more specific. The majority of modern day club music I can't stand.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Kopachris said:


> I love a good Allemande or Gavotte.
> 
> Fair enough; everyone has their own opinion and reaction. Don't think your poor opinion of the music means it's "rubbish," though. "I don't like it" is way different from "it's bad music."


Exactly. Someone else might have a different opinion since music is subjective.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Quite a difference between those 2. The first is beauty. The second is something awful.


Whenever you try to make a case against something you don't like your argument gradually loses its surface and reveals itself to be nothing more than "you're wrong." You do nothing but state your opinions as though they were objective facts, and when faced with information that disproves your point your confirmation bias kicks in so that instead of considering it rationally you completely ignore it. Stop dissing things you know nothing about, and if _that's_ too much for you then at least stop being so smug and self righteous about it. No doubt you'll respond to this with something like "lol chill dude", but you do this all the time and I am seriously sick of it.

This post will probably be removed and I'll get an infraction for making comments about someone else's posting style, but let me say that when the form of the argument is so intrinsically linked to the lack of substance, it is perfectly valid and necessary to attack it as well.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

I am entitled to my opinion. As is everyone else. Why do we have to be objective all the time? It's fun discussing personal tastes. At least it was until this thread with all the insults heading my way. Sorry I don't like Techno and Hip Hop. Move on.


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

I can't believe my comment was removed, because it was nothing but the truth.



> Hey I am angry at the treatment I got in this thread.


Don't make your self the victim here. You're comments are highly provocative, and I'm amazed that there hasnt been harsher reply's.

Now this is some quality techno






Gotta love those deep & dubby sounds.


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## Zauberberg (Feb 21, 2012)




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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

This thread is closed for repairs. The discussion started politely with sensible refutations of opinions and then descended into a lynch mob.


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