participation (20%)

A large portion of this class involves reading texts concerning electroacoustic music composition and listening to assigned electroacoustic compositions, and additionally actively engaging with those materials in in-class discussions. Your participation grade (20%) will be graded by the professor (10%) as well as yourself (self-grading) (10%). A rubric for grading participation is as follows:

  • Excellent (9-10%). You enthusiastically, voluntarily, and discriminately contribute to class exercises with thoughtful comments and questions, arrive fully prepared for every class, respectfully interact with peers, demonstrate leadership in group activities, and show steady improvement with each assignment.

  • Good (7-9%). You are focused, and engaged, arrive prepared for class, occasionally contribute to class exercises, work cooperatively in group activities, and show some improvement with each assignment.

  • Fair (5-7%). You are present but unengaged, rarely contribute to class exercises, arrive poorly prepared for class, are passively involved in group activities, show general reluctance to participate, and show little improvement with each assignment.

  • Poor (0-5%). You are absent, and doze/zone out, work on homework for other classes, send text messages or browse the internet in class, arrive unprepared and do not turn in assignments, do not participate in group activities and are disruptive to the class, and show little improvement with each assignment.

studies (30%)

Over the course of this class you will be assigned a sequence of eight short applied studies (3.75% each) to practice engaging with aspects of electroacoustic music composition and spatial audio technologies. These will involve learning hardware (sound recorders), software, and applying compositional concepts to short pieces. All Studies should be uploaded to the TECH 203 Box folder.

These studies are as follows:

  1. Stereo Recording Techniques

    Using a portable recorder and stereo microphone, record and submit 5 of the following 6 options:

    1) A recording that makes particular use of the left-right stereo field.
    2) A recording or pair of recordings that highlight proximity (near vs. far).
    3) A close recording of a “small” sound/object (may not sound small).
    4) A recording of a “big” sound/object.
    5) A recording that is in some way narrative (30 seconds or less and without words).
    6) A recording in which one or more parameters of the sound change(s) over time (30 seconds or less).

    Place the five (or six) files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 1 - Stereo Recording Techniques folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each recording—what sound(s) you sought, your recording strategy, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  2. Temporal Extensions/Contractions

    Create and submit the following:

    1) A sound that is manipulated to be longer than its original form.
    2) A variation on #1 (same original sound and roughly the same length of manipulation) using a different tool/technique.
    3) A second sound that is manipulated to be longer than its original form, this time through repetition.
    4) A sound that is manipulated to be shorter than its original form.

    Place the four files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 2 - Temporal Extensions/Contractions folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what was the original sound, what technique(s) did you use for manipulation, whether the results felt successful, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  3. Imposed Morphology

    Create and submit the following:

    1-3) Three soundfiles that address aspects of Wishart’s “Is there a natural morphology of sounds?”
    - You are welcome to choose any topic, though I suggest the categories on pages 182-183 as a logical starting point (Turbulence, Open-Close, etc.). Your files can be of any length necessary. I suspect each will be 10-30 seconds, though some could be longer or shorter.

    4) A fourth file, this time focused on Smalley’s continuum of Gesture->Texture. This file may be longer. In any case, it should traverse the continuum between gestural sound (more discrete) and textural sound (more continuous).

    Place the four files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 3 - Imposed Morphology folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what was the original sound, what technique(s) did you use for manipulation, whether the results felt successful, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  4. Transitions and Combinations

    Create and submit the following:
    1) Create an infinitely long sound using spectral freezing, and submit a 10 second section of it.

    - This can be accomplished using PaulStretch (free in Audacity), Reaper’s Spectral Hold, or another tool that allows you to “freeze” the spectrum of a sound. Be intentional about the particular spectrum you freeze: see if you can retain/hide a sound’s identity when all you’re hearing is one instant of it.
    2) Move from one sound to another or to/from silence through frequency filtering.

    - This can be accomplished in SPEAR or any software with automated effects. Be intentional about the shape of the transition (i.e. don’t just draw in a straight line for a high pass filter without experimenting with timing and shape).

    3) Create a 5 second file in which you transition between at least 5 sounds.
    - A great example of this can be heard in the opening of Trevor Wishart’s Red Bird (available on Box). You’ll need to have quite short sounds and move between them quickly, but you should still carefully craft transitions between each.

    4) Use a gesture to begin or end a texture.
    - The idea here is that you have a sound with sustained activity (a “texture”) that lasts for at least several seconds. To initiate or conclude this sound, you create a shorter, more specific gesture as either a point of departure or a kind of cadence.

    Place the four files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 4 - Transitions and Combinations folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what was the original sound, what technique(s) did you use for manipulation, whether the results felt successful, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  5. Density

    In class, we made a list of the different kinds of “density” that might be explored in an electroacoustic composition. For this study, identify four of those varieties and create a corresponding 10-30 second file for each. At least one should traverse a continuum of your chosen density (sparse-to-dense or vice versa), and at least one should be dense throughout. The character of the others is up to you.

    A few of the varieties of density that we discussed: spectral, textural, gestural, rhythmic, density of change, spatial movement, rhetorical.

    Place the four files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 5 - Density folder in the class Box folder.. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what was the original sound, what technique(s) did you use for manipulation, whether the results felt successful, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  6. Spatialization + Localization Techniques

    This study extends the concepts presented in the texts we’ve read in-class of Wishart, Smalley, and Barrett.

    For study 6, please create and submit the following: 

    1) Pick a 5-10 second sound and impose a sound-conforming spatiomorphology on to it.

    2) Pick a 5-10 second sound (can be same as 1) and impose a sound-contrasting spatiomorphology on to it.

    3) Create a 10-15 second non-moving (stationary) spatial scene, with at least three layers.

    4) Create a 10-15 second spatially homogenous moving (dynamic) spatial scene, with at least three layers.

    5) Create a 10-15 second spatially heterogeneous (different spatiomorphologies) moving (dynamic) spatial scene, with at least two layers.

    Place the five files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 6 - Imposed Spatialization and Localization folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what was the original sound, what choices you made in imposing spatialization on to it, whether the results felt successful, etc. Also note if you are hoping for feedback on a particular aspect/approach.

  7. Lower Order Ambisonics (LOA)

    Using REAPER and the Ambisonics Tool Kit (ATK), please create and submit the following:

    1) Pick a 5-10 second sound and impose a sound-conforming ambisonic spatiomorphology on to it.

    2) Pick a 5-10 second sound (can be same as 1) and impose a sound-contrasting ambisonic spatiomorphology on to it.

    3) Create a 10-15 second non-moving (stationary) ambisonic spatial scene, with at least three layers.

    IMPORTANT: your audio file outputs for this study will be binaural (using ATK Decoder Binaural). These are two-channel files that are meant for headphone listening only.

    Place the five files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 7 - Lower Order Ambisonics folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what the original sound was, what choices you made in imposing spatialization on to it, whether the results felt successful, etc.

  8. Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA)

    Using REAPER and the IEM Ambisonics Plug-in Suite, please create and submit the following:

    1) A 5-10 second spatiomorphology—conforming, contrasting, whatever you like! (using IEM MultiEncoder).

    2) A remix of your 5 sounds in 5 seconds study (Part 3 of Study 4), but this time for virtual octophonic speaker array (mono-addressed) (in the template). You’re welcome to just take the stereo mix you submitted (rather than having to go back to that project), and you can extend it if you desire!

    3) A 5-10 second non-moving spatial scene for virtual octophonic speaker array (stereo-pairs) (in the template).

    4) A 10-15 second performed or drawn automation of a sound moving in a virtual room (with IEM RoomEncoder).

    IMPORTANT: your audio file outputs for this study will be binaural (using IEM BinauralDecoder). These are two-channel files that are meant for headphone listening only.

    Place the four files, clearly labeled, in a folder with your name on it in the Study 8 - Higher Order Ambisonics folder in the class Box folder. Also include a PDF document with brief notes about each sound—what the original sound was, what choices you made in imposing spatialization on to it, whether the results felt successful, etc.

Composer Profile (15%)

Choose one or two composers from the list below, or propose someone not on the list and we will discuss them as an option. Identify three pieces by your composer(s) to analyze and discuss (you are welcome to consider and refer to additional pieces, but focus on three). For each piece, identify and discuss one or two particularly striking features, in addition to discussing the piece as a whole. Where possible, include in your research program notes, scores, and scholarly texts by your composer(s) and/or others.

As a final product of your research, you should produce the following:

  1. for each piece, 300-400 words of analytical text, plus any related graphics, tables, etc. (5%)

  2. for each piece, a 200-word program note suitable for a concert-going audience (10%)

Choose an approximately 1 to 3 minute excerpt of one of the three pieces to prepare for a live diffusion performance (see below).

Composers from which to choose:

Natasha Barrett | Manuella Blackburn | Michel Chion | Francis Dhomont | Simon Emmerson | Luc Ferrari | Elizabeth Hoffman | Ryoji Ikeda | Paul Koonce | Paul Lansky | Elainie Lillios | Francisco Lopez | Katherine Norman | Robert Normandeau | Maggi Payne | Diana Salazar | Denis Smalley | Barry Truax | Hildegard Westerkamp | Trevor Wishart

Or propose one of your own!

diffusion analysis/performance/score (10%)

Diffusion is the term given to the practice of manually and in real-time performing the distribution of sounds in space, typically by changing relative volume levels by means of faders. As part of this assignment you will be asked to analyze an excerpt of a piece from your Composer Profile (above) (3.3%), create a diffusion score for performing the diffusion of the piece (which should be detailed but practical, and readable by someone else) (3.3%), and perform the diffusion in-class (3.3%).

large multi-channel project (25%)

As a final project for this course you will be asked to compose a maximum three-minute, multi-channel composition created (and graded) in stages:

Out of 100%:

  • Proposal/Sketch (10%)

  • Draft (15%)

  • Final Piece (multi-channel) (35%)

  • Remixed Version (in stereo) (15%)

  • Self-reflection (25%)

For the proposal (due Tuesday, May 3rd by class time (1;30PM)), please answer the following questions. Place your answers in a PDF titled “<LastName>_FinalProjectProposal.pdf” in the Proposals folder in the Final Project folder on the class’ Box folder.

  1. What musical materials will you be using? (e.g., I’m using recordings of myself playing with a pinecone and my spoken voice.)

  2. What outside resource(s) will you be engaging with? (e.g., I’m going to make use of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. I will be recording myself speaking this poem to accompany the pinecone.)

  3. How will the resource(s) impact your electroacoustic composition process? (e.g., The text of the poem will be presented via spoken voice. Additionally, I will be mapping every other word of the Sonnet to a set of pinecone gestures.)

  4. What kinds of musical/processual techniques will be used? What is their role? (e.g., I will be using reverb and granulation to process the pinecone, for the purpose of making the listener feel as though they are within the pinecone.)

  5. What role will spatialization play in the work? (e.g., I will use immersion and surround sound to place the listener inside of the pinecone, with my voice moving slowly around them, as though I were circling them.)

  6. Do you have an idea of the form of the piece? (It’s okay if not!) (e.g., a large swell to start, a heavy impact, a section where things are worked out between pinecone and voice, and then a gentle rise to high frequencies which end the work)