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; 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 (gamepad, phone app, webcam); mapping continuous data to parameters; deriving triggers from continuous data |
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) | Continuation of data-driven instrument techniques |
Pamela Z:
Quatre Couches, Badagada, Typewriter (1988, 2015, 2003)
Extra Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 6
Work on Project 1. |
| Week 8 (3/9) | Building complex patches using encapsulation | Bryan Jacobs: Blocks and Birds (2018) | Work on Project 1. |
| Week 9 (3/16) | Turning things on and off (gate object); Presentation Mode; live audio input; buffer-based recording and playback | Exercise 7 Max Tips |
DUE: Project 1
Start Exercise 7: Live Audio Input. |
| Week 10 (3/23) | Granulation theory and practice |
Kyong Mee Choi:
It Only Needs to Be Seen (2007)
Week 10 Reading in Canvas Exercise 8 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 7
Start Exercise 8: Granulation in Max. |
| Week 11 (3/30) | Organizing a piece in Max: changing patch state using cues; separating cue data from sound engine via encapsulation; automation |
Russell Pinkston:
Lizamander (2004)
Exercise 9 Max Tips |
DUE: Exercise 8
Start Exercise 9: Cueing Patch State Changes. Start Project 2: An Extended Composition |
| Week 12 (4/6) | Intro to the FFT; standard and tracking phase vocoders; convolution as cross-synthesis and reverberation | Week 12 Reading in Canvas |
DUE: Exercise 9
Work on Project 2. |
| Week 13 (4/13) | History 1 | Week 13 Reading in Canvas | Work on Project 2. |
| Week 14 (4/20) | History 2 | Week 14 Reading in Canvas |
Work on Project 2.
TEST: History DUE Sunday, 4/25, midnight |
| Week 15 (4/27) | Advanced topic overview (computer-assisted composition, text-based music coding, Jitter) | Complete draft of Project 2. | |
| Exam Week (5/4) | Project presentations: Tuesday, 5/4, 11:15 AM - 1:15 PM | Project 2 (be ready to present on Tuesday) |