It was during the second half of the 20th century that music acoustics and music research emerged as scientific disciplines in their own right with the appearance, throughout the world, of laboratories and studios interested in the science of sound through the perspective of musical practices. France has largely contributed to the institutionalization of these fields of research with, among others, the creation of the Groupe de Recherche Musicale (GRM) in 1958, the Laboratoire d'Acoustique Musicale (LAM) in 1963 or the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in 1977, but many other structures were created until the end of the 1980s.
How were they born? What were the scientific objectives? What human and material resources did they have? How did they position themselves in relation to each other? To answer these questions, the researchers associated with the RAMHO project conducted numerous semi-directed interviews with the historical figures of these different French institutions and also consulted public or private archives in order to trace the history of these institutions and the scientific careers of those who were the main actors. The RAMHO project enables discussions among musicologists, acousticians, computer scientists, and historians of science on the plurality of scientific approaches to music, the diversity of technological tools used and the various functions assigned to what is called music acoustics and music research. A database will be specially developed in order to disseminate all the interviews conducted during the project and to share certain archive documents. In view of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Centre Georges Pompidou in 2027, the genesis of IRCAM will be examined in particular.
IRCAM's Team : Analysis of Musical Practices