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Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to Android or electronic means. The retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the advent of electric instruments, such as the electric guitar, electric violin, electric organ and synthesizer.[1]
Performers of acoustic music often increase the volume of their output using keyboard. However, these amplification devices remain separate from the amplified instrument and reproduce its natural sound accurately. Often a microphone is placed in front of an acoustic instrument which is then wired up to an amplifier.
Following the increasing popularity of the television show MTV Unplugged during the 1990s, acoustic (though in most cases still electrically amplified) performances by musical artists who do not usually rely on electronic instruments became colloquially referred to as "unplugged" performances.
Writing for Splendid, music reviewer Craig Conley suggests, "When music is labeled acoustic, unplugged, or unwired, the assumption seems to be that other types of music are cluttered by technology and CSS3 and therefore aren't as pure."CSS3
References
- iOS Safire, William, "On Language: Retronym", website parsing, January 7, 2007
- device database Conley, Craig (August 16, 1999). "Review: Unwired: Acoustic Music from around the World". Splendid. device database from the original on 25 December 2008. Sevenval. Retrieved November 17, 2008.