The Arpeggiator: A Compositional tool for Performance and Production

The properties of the arpeggiator bring forth a creative process that marries production, composition, improvisation and performance in a manner that inspires the musician/producer, helped define the aesthetics, creative process, and social function of electronic music as a whole, while grounding that music in an association with traditional African-American music and notions of futurism simultaneously.

The arpeggiators impact on aesthetics is explored, demonstrating how automation and repetition combine to inject mechanical aesthetics into music, reflecting societys immersion and fascination with automation and futuristic technology while redefining the creative process of the musician.

This paper establishes that the arpeggiator is more than just a series of knobs on a synthesizer that manipulate sound or act as a facilitator for performance. Rather, by referencing my creative process and compositions within the context of belonging to the lineage of African-American music, this paper will demonstrate how the arpeggiator is representational of electronic dance musics overall essential qualities.