Music 220: Computers in Music Performance

Professor Kevin Ernste
kme32@cornell.edu
Office: B27 and 108 Lincoln Hall
Office Hours: Thursdays 1 – 2:30, Fridays 11 – 1
Office Phone: 255-5795 (CEMC)

Course website: http://digital.music.cornell.edu
  - please visit the website and register a username

Music 220 is an exploration of strategies and techniques for live performance with computers.  As such, a substantial portion of our time will be spent working with software directly, although “learning software” is not our explicit goal.  In developing our awareness of tools for live music we will explore several performance metaphors: DJ, interactivity, multimedia, installation, and several others.  We will engage a broad array of software and hardware combinations with a focus on their creative uses.

In addition to commercially available software, students will be introduced to a number of excellent free software tools, many with unique designs and functionality.  All tools are available for download on the website (see “free tools”).  I encourage students to use this course to begin imagining an individualized musical toolkit and free software is a great place to start.

Course requirements include three composition projects, one for each of the three parts of the course (see the semester schedule below).  The last of these pieces will be presented at the Sound Art Forum concert at the semester's end.  In addition, there will be weekly or bi-weekly assignments to be carried out on the student's own time.  Studios are available for this purpose and students may sign up for individual times online.  Visit the course website and follow the link to “studios”.

Grading for the semester is broken down as follows:

    10% Class participation (make yourself heard in class and online)
    30% Weekly/bi-weekly assignments
    30% Two mid-semester projects (15% each)
    30% Final project and performance

All work must be turned in on time.  Late work will be graded one letter grade lower and work turned in more than two weeks late will not be accepted.  The final performance is mandatory and non-participation will result in automatic failure (participation and final project grade lost).

Facilities: The Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center's studios B25B, C, and D will be our primary studios with more stations available in the new music library lab located on the 2nd floor of Lincoln.  In addition, some of the software used in Music 220 is available for use in the Uris Library CL3 (Creation Station) lab where there are 11 Windows machines as well as some hardware which you will come to know (Korg KONTROL49 keyboard, SM58 microphone, etc).

All assignments and project are to be handed in on the CEMC network drive, an online storage area where you can backup or relay data from one studio/system.  Details will be discussed.
Semester Schedule

PART I: Live Performance Fundamentals

< Week 1 – January 22nd and 24th
    Course introduction and logistics; website information; performance examples

< Week 2 – January 29th and January 31st
    Digital audio fundamentals, review

< Week 3 – February 5th and 7th
    Microphone types and placement, studio and remote recording

< Week 4 – February 12th and 14th
    Hardware and software configurations, signal path; MIDI and messaging

< Week 5 – February 19th and 21st
    Live audio: signal path and processing, sound reinforcement; Concert one, Thursday February 22nd

PART II: Connectivity and Interactivity

< Week 6 – February 26th and February 28th
    Live processing, real-time considerations for DSP; interactive technologies

< Week 7 – March 4th and 6th
    Introduction to graphical programming with PureData (PD)

< Week 8 – March 11th and 13th
    PD continued: control data, audio signals; designing user interfaces

< Week 9 – SPRING BREAK

< Week 10 – March 25th and 27th
    PD and JACK, MIDI, networking, and OSC (Open Sound Control)

< Week 11– April 1st and 3rd
    Collaborative/cooperative creative work; Concert two, Thursday April 3rd

PART III: Interfaces

< Week 12 – April 8th and 10th
    Multimedia; sound art, installations, and the web

< Week 13 – April 15th and 17th
    New and experimental interfaces for performance; DIY technologies

< Week 14 – April 22nd and 24th
    Modularity and software toolkits; DIY technologies continued

< Week 15 – April 29th and May 1st
    Final Concert planning: pieces, logistics, publicity

Final Concert: Sound Art Forum, Date, time, and place TBA