Dr. Robert Thompson
1114 Standard
Office phone: 651‑1731
E-Mail:
rst@aucourantrecords.com
FALL SEMESTER:
2002
Office Hours: Monday 12 - 2
Tuesday
10 - 12
Or
by appointment...
PLAGIARISM OR
CHEATING: Plagiarism is the act of stealing and passing off as one's own the
ideas or words of another. Cheating is
violating rules dishonestly. A student
who cheats or plagiarizes another's work, purchases papers, or presents dated
work as the response to current assignments, will face disciplinary
action. Plagiarism or cheating will
result in a failing grade for this course, and upon further review by faculty
may result in suspension from your degree program or from the university. Your responsibility is to acknowledge your
sources when necessary and to communicate accurately material that is directly
quoted, paraphrased, or your own.
Computer Music
MUS 4981 / 6981
1112 Standard
T/H 1:00 - 2:15
Prerequisite: MUS 3730/6730
Required Text: Composing Music with Computers –
Miranda, Focal Press – ORDER FROM AMAZON.COM
Webtexts, reprints
and preprints by RST.
Course URL: http://cara.gsu.edu/courses/MIDI/index.html
Other texts to be
announced.
COURSE AIM:
The central aim of
this course is to build upon what you have learned in the previous course, MUS
3730/6730. Our work will include the
study of the equipment and software of the School of Music Computer Music
Laboratory - CARA Studio M. The following topics will also be discovered:
Electronic Music Synthesis Theory
Acoustics and Electroacoustics
Recording Electroacoustic Music
Sampling Theory
The Windows Computer as a Computer Music Workstation
Music Sequencing Techniques
Sound
Design for Electronic Music Synthesizers
SEMINAR and
Laboratory Work:
We will meet on
twice weekly for discussion of topics and hands‑on group
work. Each student will be assigned
laboratory time for course projects.
The MIDI studio (1112 Standard) will be open from 9am to 5pm weekdays. A key to allow access will be available from
the music office. In order to qualify
for a key to the midi studio - CARA STUDIO M - the student must pass a
“check-out” examination given individually by Dr. Thompson. This exam will follow a comprehensive
introduction to the studio.
EXPERIENTIAL
TASKS:
In addition to
attending class meetings and taking quizzes and exams, you will be asked to
accomplish various experimental/experiential tasks in the Computer Music Lab ‑
from sampling, to sequencing, to sound‑design and signal processing.
These will be guided exercises that each participant will undertake
independently with an assigned laboratory partner. At our class meetings we
will sometimes play recordings of the sonic results of your work and discuss
them. We will also use that time for discussions regarding the literature and
aesthetics of electroacoustic music in general.
TERM
ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC PROJECT: Prerequisites:
In addition to the
guided exercises, and depending upon the general level of the class, you may be
required to create an etude of electroacoustic sound as a term project. This project will be introduced in detail as
the semester progresses.
EXAMINATIONS:
There will be one
MIDTERM EXAM and one FINAL EXAM. The
exams will be technical in orientation, much like the diagnostic exam but with
greater scope and specificity. You will
be responsible for information presented in both the Monday meetings and in the
small group meetings. These will be take‑home exams.
ABSENCES:
If you are absent
more than 4 times during the semester you will be dropped from the course. For each two absences your course grade will
drop by ˝. Attendance and class
participation will be considered in cases of borderline grades.
DETERMINATION OF
COURSE GRADE:
Guided projects (4) 25%
Term project (1) 25%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Sign‑up
policies and Reserved Times:
Each student
enrolled in this course will have access to the School of Music Computer Music
Laboratory during the semester in order to learn the techniques of
Electroacoustic Music and also to complete course assignments.
Each student will be
allowed to check out a key to Room 1112 from the School of Music Office. Keys will be available during normal
operating hours. All CARA studios are
closed at 5pm daily and are not open on the weekends.
Two two‑hour
time slots will be assigned to each student for a total of 4 hours per week in
the lab. It is essential that you
attempt to use all of your allotted time in the studio for the completion of
your course projects as it is a limited resource and must be shared by a large
number of students including those not enrolled in this course. Additional time in the lab will be available
on a weekly sign‑up basis. You
may sign‑up for additional time at our Tuesday meetings.
Each student will be
given a STUDIO M ID Card upon successful completion of the “check-out”
exam. These badges must be shown in
order to check out a key. Another piece
of ID, such as a drivers license must be provided in order to take the key and
will be returned when the key is checked in.
It is very important that you
turn the key in before the School of Music Offices closes and at the end of
your Studio C session so that others may have access.
Lab Use Policies:
1) Make sure that
the doors are securely closed and locked when you leave the room for any
reason. NEVER PROP THE DOORS OPEN
AND LEAVE THE ROOM UNATTENDED!!
2) NO FOOD OR
DRINKS IN THE LAB ‑ EVER!!
You may bring refreshments to the lab but please do not eat or drink
inside.
3) Leave the lab in
a better condition than you found it.
Please be careful to clean up after yourself when you are done with a
session. Stack chairs, neatly arrange manuals and etc.
4) Sign the log book
each time you visit the studio. Those
who do not sign‑in will have their access revoked! When you sign‑in include the following
information in your entry:
1. Your Name ‑ DATE AND
TIME IN / TIME OUT
2. Condition of the lab when you
entered
3. Project ‑ your task
during your lab visit
4. Any malfunctions or problems
with equipment/software
5. Any other communications you
consider pertinent
NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT TEAR PAGES OUT OF THE
LOGBOOK!!
5) Turn off all
power strips and the room lights before you leave. Check security of all doors prior to leaving.
6) Do not allow
anyone unknown to you entry to the lab.
Report any suspicious individuals to the campus police.
7) DO NOT, UNDER
ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, RE‑PATCH ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT IN THE STUDIO. DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING UNLESS SPECIFICALLY
INSTRUCTED HOW TO DO IT!!
Following these
simple guidelines will help to ensure a safe and functional working environment
for all of us!
Additional Course
Materials Needed:
You will require
these additional materials in order to profit for using the Computer Music Lab ‑
the actual quantities required will vary somewhat as you advance in your
work. At first you will need only #1
and #2 below.
1) cassette tapes : 60 mins. /
high bias (CrO2)
use with: Tascam
112 cassette recorders
2) 3.5 floppy diskettes ‑
double density
use with: Macintosh computer
Emulator III
3) 3.5 floppy diskettes ‑
high density
use with: Korg T1 synthesizer
4) DAT Tape for use with the
TASCAM DA‑30
Computer Music 4981 / 6981
School of Music, GSU
Dr. R. Thompson
Diagnostic Quiz:
(A student will be able to answer all of these
questions after taking this course)
Use a separate
sheet of paper to answer the following questions. Please be sure to write
clearly.
1) Briefly describe
what MIDI is, why it came into being, and what it can be used for.
2) A MIDI cord uses
a typical 5‑pin DIN connector at either end. Draw an accurate diagram of
how the plug is wired describing which pins are used and what each wire
corresponds to.
3) What is the
difference between a MIDI Interface (such as the Roland MPU‑401) and a
MIDI Patcher such as the Opcode Studio 4?
4) What are the
technical differences between a MIDI Out Port and a MIDI Thru Port? What is the difference in the type of data
that each handles?
5) Describe the
basic MIDI modes, giving the proper name and describing the distinguishing
characteristics.
6) What are the
various MIDI message types? What is the
difference between system real‑time and system exclusive messages?
7) What will happen
as a MIDI synthesist "daisy‑chains" his or her system using
MIDI Thrus? Imagine they have an
infinite number of MIDI sound modules in their studio. What is the difference between the
"daisy‑chain" and "star‑network" MIDI system
configurations?
8) What must someone
be aware of when making rapid program changes on a given synthesizer?
9) What
distinguishes the master and slave units in a MIDI system?
10) How does a
computer transmit and receive data?
11) What is a status
byte in MIDI parlance? How is it used
by the MIDI language?
12) How does a
sampler, such as the Emulator III, record, store and playback sound?
13) What is the
difference between a synthesizer that contains stored waveforms as a basis for
sound synthesis and one that uses digital oscillators?
14) What is
frequency modulation? Describe how it
is used to create complex timbres.
15) The MIDI
Interface is a serial interface (one piece of data at a time). How is it possible to transmit polyphonic
music (chords) over MIDI?
16) The "All
Notes Off" message is a special command in the MIDI language
protocol. When would such a command be
necessary?
17) What would
happen if a "note off" command was accidentally removed from a MIDI
sequence? How would you remedy the
situation?
18) How does a multi‑timbral
synthesizer create more that one discrete sound at the same time in terms of
MIDI implementation?
19) What are system
common messages?
20) Why is it
possible for a MIDI sequencer with 48 tracks to have a virtual number of
available tracks for recording? How
does bouncing with MIDI differ from bouncing with a tape recorder?
fini
Thank you for
reading these materials carefully! It
is certainly to your credit! This
diagnostic exam is usually too difficult for most of the students in this
course. It should not be
attempted! Aren’t you glad about
that!? However, I hope that you will
keep this around and check your mastery of our subject matter against this
examination. If, at the end of the
semester you can answer these questions correctly you will have learned a great
deal!
MUS 4981 / 6981 –
Computer Music
Assignment 1: Due
in one week! (That is not
much time!)
1. Write me an E‑mail
message, rst@aucourantrecords.com
a) include a brief synopsis of
your career at GSU
and what you
would like to do upon graduation
b) send possible lab times ‑
2 hour blocks M‑F, 9 to 5pm
c) write a 300-500 word essay
concerning your interest in electronic music and your
personal goals
and objectives
2. Visit the webpage
for this course using Netscape or the equivalent:
URL:
http://cara.gsu.edu/courses/MIDI/index.html
3. Download, print
and read the following texts, keeping them in a notebook for future reference:
How much for just the MIDI?
A Midi Primer
4. Use a search
engine such as Yahoo to look up the following terms on the Web:
MIDI
Computer Music
Electronic Music Synthesis
Electronic Music Foundation
Electronic Music Interactive
Karlheinz Stockhausen
John Cage
Take note of your findings and
be prepared to report to the class what interesting links you have found. Make a list of the URL of the various sites
to turn in for posting on the website for this course.
Academic Policies Relating to this Course:
This is a lecture and laboratory course and these
policies apply to both the lecture and laboratory components.
1. Attendance Policies and Consequences of Non-Attendance
and Tardiness:
Prompt, consistent attendance is required and will be considered in determination of grades. Record of attendance begins on the first day of class. Requests for excused absences should be submitted to the instructor in advance of the absence. Failure to attend class regularly may result in your withdrawal by the instructor and a grade of W or WF for the course. After four unexcused absences the instructor may withdraw the student.
Being late to class is disruptive to the instructor and the
rest of the students attending. Please
make every effort to be in class on time. A student will be considered tardy 10
minutes after the scheduled start time of class. Three tardies will equal one absence.
2. Excused Absences:
Excused absences for illness or other urgent reasons will be
considered on a case-by-case basis.
Except in cases of emergency, your absences should be cleared in advance
of class time. If, in the judgment of the instructor, the number of excused
absences compromises your ability to meet the objectives of the course, you
will be advised to withdraw or take an Incomplete.
3. Incomplete (I) grades:
The grade of I will be given only to students who have
completed the majority of the course work and for a non-academic reason beyond
their control have been unable to complete the semester (e.g. take the final
exam, submit final paper, perform jury, etc.).
4. Withdrawal (W/WF):
Prior to the mid-point of a grading period a student may
withdraw (or be withdrawn by the instructor) and receive a grade of W.
Withdrawal without penalty is not permitted following the midpoint of the
grading period when the grade WF will be assigned.
5. Grading Determination:
In addition to numerical and letter grades for project, tests and the like, factors such as attitude, professionalism and consistency of quality in assignments will be considered in awarding the final grade. Students are invited to discuss these aspects of their grade with the professor at any time.
6. Late and Incomplete Work:
In general, late and incomplete work is not acceptable for a
university level course. Assignments, tests, projects and the like will be
discounted one grade point for each day they are late. After three days of lateness a grade of
F will be assigned.
Please refer to the GSU General Catalog for college and
university policies on grading, academic honesty and related issues.