What did people use to make electronic music with in 1990?

[Louigi Verona]

Electronic music is a vague term. If it means "music performed and/or composed with electronic instruments" than it really isn't saying much.

I am working on a paper describing a new form of art which can be called "sound music", music which is based on sound manipulation rather than on note combinations. I am eager to share my thoughts here and now, but I think there is no real hurry - I will do so when I finish work on the paper which takes a lot of time and effort.

[uncloned]

I wonder if your paper and Sam's MUX concept might not share some points of view / ideas.

http://www.louigiverona.com/webarchive/samzen/mux/mux.html

[Louigi Verona]

Yep, I think my paper is speaking about the same phenomena, I just analyze it from a perspective of forms of art, not from a perspective of playing an instrument.

Notes are much less important, changes are.

This is important. The main idea behind my paper is that before recording became possible, music was abstract note-based music, the essence of which are combinations of notes. Today, along with note-based music we have sound-based music, a different form of art the subject of which is sound, not notes.
My whole music theory thing is based on the premise that because sound music has no notes, composition (changes) is the main tool for self expression for the sound composer.