The dates given in the Week column are for the Tuesday of the week.
Reading and Listening are due at the Tuesday group class. Also listed in this column are Max patches (the “Max Tips” links) you should download and look at before class. These are relevant to the exercises that you will do for the following week.
Exercises are due at your tutorial time and must be submitted to Canvas by Thursday midnight to receive credit.
| Week | Topic | Reading & Listening | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (1/19) | Overview; scheduling; intro to Max messages; sequential and random selection from tables; MIDI note output | Exercise 1 Max Tips | Start Exercise 1: Generative Music in Max. |
| Week 2 (1/26) | Intro to audio in Max; playing sound files; mixing and routing audio; creating a reverb send; simple event triggers |
Elainie Lillios:
Among Fireflies, for alto flute and live electroacoustics (2010)
Exercise 2 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 1
Start Exercise 2: Playing Sound Files, Routing Audio. |
| Week 3 (2/2) | Max audio patching: oscillators, detuning, noise, envelopes; encapsulation |
George Lewis:
Emergent, for flute and electroacoustics (2014)
Exercise 3 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 2
Start Exercise 3: Basic Synthesis. |
| Week 4 (2/9) | Sub-audio-rate modulation; modulation synthesis (AM, RM, FM) |
Paula Matthusen:
sparrows in supermarkets, for recorder and electronics (2011)
Week 4 Reading in Canvas Exercise 4 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 3
Start Exercise 4: Modulation. |
| Week 5 (2/16)
No Tuesday Class! |
Create multiple filter types using the biquad~ object; use a bandpass filterbank; make your own delay effect |
Shawn Wasabi:
Marble Soda (2015)
Exercise 5 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 4
Start Exercise 5: Audio Filters and Delays. |
| Week 6 (2/23) | Data-driven instruments using (mostly) external hardware; deriving triggers from continuous data; mapping continuous data to parameters |
Jeffrey Stolet:
ImPossible (2018)
Exercise 6 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 5
Start Exercise 6: External Control of Sound. Start Project 1: Data-driven Performance Piece. |
| Week 7 (3/2) | Designing polyphonic synthesizers; parameter automation | Pamela Z: Quatre Couches, Badagada, Typewriter (1988, 2015, 2003) |
DUE: Exercise 6
Work on Project 1. |
| Week 8 (3/9) | Granulation theory and practice; pitch and frequency shifting |
Bryan Jacobs:
Blocks and Birds (2018)
Week 8 Reading in Canvas Extra Max Tips |
Work on Project 1. |
| Week 9 (3/16) | Live audio input; buffer-based recording and playback; granulation in Max | Exercise 7 Max Tips |
DUE: Project 1
Start Exercise 7: Live Audio and Granulation. |
| Week 10 (3/23) | Organizing a piece in Max: more encapsulation; changing patch state using cues |
Russell Pinkston:
Lizamander (2004)
Exercise 8 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 7
Start Exercise 8: Cueing Patch State Changes. |
| Week 11 (3/30) | Intro to the FFT; standard and tracking phase vocoders; convolution as cross-synthesis and reverberation |
Mara Helmuth:
Irresistible Flux (2014)
Week 11 Reading in Canvas |
DUE: Exercise 8
Start Project 2: An Extended Composition |
| Week 12 (4/6) | History 1 | Week 12 Reading in Canvas | Work on Project 2. |
| Week 13 (4/13) | History 2 | Week 13 Reading in Canvas | Work on Project 2. |
| Week 14 (4/20) | Advanced topic overview (computer-assisted composition, text-based music coding, Jitter) |
Work on Project 2.
TEST: History DUE Sunday, 4/25, midnight |
|
| Week 15 (4/27) | Advanced topics | Complete draft of Project 2. | |
| Exam Week (5/4) | Project presentations: Tuesday, 5/4, 11:15-1:15 PM | Project 2 (be ready to present on Tuesday) |