What advancement in technology facilitated composers in developing "musique concrete"?

The advancement that significantly facilitated composers in developing "musique concrete" was tape-recording natural sounds. This technique involved capturing everyday sounds from the environment using tape recorders, allowing composers to manipulate and compose with sounds that were not traditionally considered musical. This method marked a departure from conventional musical creation, as it expanded the definition of music to include a wide array of sonic materials that could be edited, mixed, and arranged in new ways.

Tape-recording technology was critical for "musique concrete" because it enabled the recording of raw sounds in their natural context, which could then be played back, layered, and altered creatively. This approach laid the groundwork for experimentation in sound and composition. Other technologies, such as electronic instruments, digital sound synthesis, or sound editing software, came later and were built on these foundational concepts established by the early work in tape-recording natural sounds. Thus, the utilization of tape for capturing and manipulating real-world sounds was essential to the development of this groundbreaking musical genre.