Acoustic music refers to music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electronic means. Given that electronic instruments are a very recent invention in the history of music, almost all musical instruments are acoustic and subsequently almost all music. The term "acoustic music" is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric instruments, such as the electric guitar, Hammond organ and the synthesiser.^[1] Look up Acoustic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary For the study of sound, a branch of physics, see acoustics. ... Look up Electronic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Telharmonium, created by Thaddeus Cahill 1897 Luigi Russolo and his assistant Ugo Piatti with their Intonarumori, 1913 Léon Theremin and his Theremin, 1919 Trautonium, 1928 An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. ... For the academic study of history of music, see Music history. ... A retronym is a type of neologism coined for an old object or concept whose original name has come to be used for something else, is no longer unique, or is otherwise inappropriate or misleading. ... Two different electric guitars. ... The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company until the 1970s. ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ...

Acoustic music may still be amplified using electronic amplifiers. However, these amplification devices must be separate from the amplified instrument and need to reproduce its natural sound accurately. The term amplifier as used in this article can mean either a circuit (or stage) using a single active device or a complete system such as a packaged audio hi-fi amplifier. ...

Following the popularity of the MTV Unplugged television show, acoustic (though in most cases still electrically amplified) performances by artists who usually rely on electronic instruments have become colloquially referred to as "unplugged" concerts. MTV Unplugged is a series showcasing popular musical artists playing acoustic instruments. ...

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