Music, Electricity & Computation

An intensive, project- driven course designed to develop skills in sound synthesis techniques and procedural music, with a focus on their specific application in composition, sound design, New Instruments of Musical Expression, and games. The course will consist in extensive exploration of analog modular synthesis, Max, and SuperCollider, in recreating algorithms used by synthesis and computer music pioneers such as Xenakis, Chowning, and Risset as well as new talents in electronic music such as Agostino Di Scipio, Alessandro Cortini or Richard Devine. Previous knowledge of working with Max and/or SuperCollider is required for this course or students may have to take a complementary lab in order to be able to follow the class. By the end of the semester, students will have built a small portfolio of musical works employing the techniques learned during the semester.