Music 435/735: Interactive Media

Interactive Media
MUSI 435/735

Professor Matthew Burtner
email: mburtner@virginia.edu
University of Virginia, Department of Music/ VCCM

Monday/Wednesday, 5:00-6:15 Rm. 323 New Cabell Hall
Lab (no credit), The VCCM (Rm. BO11 OCH)
Office hours: Tuesday 3-5pm, Old Cabell Hall #201, and by appointment

Students from MUSI 435 2001 Performing as MICE at the Fringe Festival

OVERVIEW

1) Interactive Acoustics
2) Network Music
3) Multimedia

Music 435/735 explores interactive technology for music and multimedia. The class supports the ensemble MICE (Music for Interactive Computers Ensemble). 435/735 students learn theoretical and practical aspects of composing and performing real-time interactive music with computers. In this course we engage with the computer as a musical collaborator. Emphasis will be placed on gaining a deeper and more personal understanding of the possibilities of real time music technology and multimedia. Students are strongly encouraged to involve their own areas of expertise (instrument, major field, previous musical or computer experience). This class fulfills a music major composition course requirement. It is helpful to have taken a previous computer music class (although this is not a prerequisite) and all students should be at least somewhat familiar with Macintosh computers.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

Students must register for the course and the lab section
Assignments 10% each (30% total)
- Interactive Acoustics: Choose a body from the physical acoustic world (possibly your instrument) and develop an approach to extending into virtual reality.
  due September 24
- MICE (Music for Interactive Acoustics Ensemble: Design a Network music performance for MICE. This is a collaborative class project and may use or not use any of the previous assignments.
  due October 15
- Multimedia Create a short multimedia composition.
  due November 12
Quizes: 10%:There will be two quizes on material related to Max/MSP (5% each).
Final Project 40%: There will be a final creative project presented in-class during the final week of the semester.

MATERIALS


Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality by Randall Packer and Ken Jordan (eds)	Essentials of Music Technology by Todd Winkler

Other materials:

* Digital Audio Tapes (DATs) are available at Plan9 on the UVa Corner
* CD-Rs for assignments and data back-ups

Equipment and Resources:

computers, controllers, manuals, etc are located in the VCCM

Portable DAT machines for recording samples are available for check-out in the Music Library, in the basement of Old Cabell Hall, available during regular library hours.

Other useful materials
download the Max/MSP Getting Started document: Max42GettingStarted.pdf
download the Max/MSP Reference document: Max42Reference.pdf
download the Max/MSP Tutorials and Topics document: Max42TutorialsAndTopics.pdf
download the Max/MSP 4.2 Manual: MSP42.pdf
download the Peak Manual: Peak.pdf
download the SoundHack Manual: SoundHack.pdf
Digital Performer Manual available by every computer in hard copy

SYLLABUS

First Class Wed August 27
Introduction to MUSI 435/735 Interactive Media: concerns and class overview
From intermedia to acoustics: Ex Tempore

Week 1 – Sept 1 / Sept 3
Mon: Tour of VCCM, user accounts, using the resources
Wed: History of interactive music software, introduction to Max/MSP
Readings:
Richard Wagner: "Outlines of the Artwork of the Future"

Max introduction: Introduction to the environment. Getting MIDI and audio control data in and.

Week 2 – Sept 8/ Sept 10
Mon: Introduction to network music and MICE Ensemble, Max programming 1
Wed: working with MIDI control systems in Max/MSP
Readings from:
Composing interactive music : techniques and ideas using Max / Winkler, Todd, 1958- (1998) MT56 .W5 1998 (MU-STKS) at MUSIC
Douglas Engelbart: "Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework"

Week 3 – Sept 15/ Sept 17
Mon: Interactive Acoustics
Wed: working with digital audio systems in Max/MSP
Readings from:
J.C.R. Licklider: "Man-Computer Symbiosis"

Week 4 – Sept 22/ Sept 24
Mon: Interactive Acoustics II
Wed: Assignment 1 due: more on Max/MSP
Readings from:
Scott Fisher: "Virtual Interface Environments"

Week 5 – Sept 29 / Oct 1
Mon: performative systems and interface design
Wed: building MICE network

Week 6 – Oct 6/ Oct 8
Mon Oct 6Reading Holiday
Wed: Max/MSP lab
Readings from:
Billy Kluver: "The Great Northeastern Power Failure"

Week 7 – Oct 13 / Oct 15
Mon: Music for Interactive Computers Ensemble
Wed: MICE workshop, Assignment 2 (group project)
Readings from:
Pierre Levy: "The Art and Architecture of Cyberspace"

Friday, Oct 17 MICE setup for Fringe Festival
Saturday, Oct 18 MICE performance

Week 8 – Oct 20 / Oct 22
Mon: Visual representations of Sound
Wed: Multimedia/sonification
Readings from:
F.T. Marinetti: "The Futurist Cinema"

Week 9 – Oct 27 / Oct 29
Mon: Multimedia
Wed: video processing tools lab
Readings from: Formalized music : thought and mathematics in composition / Xenakis, Iannis, 1922- (1992) ML3800.X4 1992 - Multiple copies at MUSIC

Week 10 Nov 3/ Nov 5
Mon: presentation/discussion
Wed: sensor lab
Readings from:
Real sound synthesis for interactive applications / Cook, Perry R. (2002) TK7881.4 .C666 2002

Week 11 – Nov 10 / Nov 12
Mon: presentation/discussion
Wed: Video lab, sensing visual space
Readings From:
F.T. Marinetti: "The Futurist Cinema"
Lynn Hershman: "The Fantasy Beyond Control"

Week 12 – Nov 17 / Nov 19
Mon: final lecture: new directions in interactive media
Wed projects

Week 13 – Nov 24 / Nov 26
Mon: projects
Wed: Nov 26 Thanksgiving break

Week 14 – Dec 1 / Dec 3
Mon: Final presentations/discussions
Wed: Final presentations/discussions

Additional projects for students at the 735 level:
In addition to the material in the syllabus, 735 students are required to fulfil the following:
- take an organizational role in producing the Music for Interactive Computers Ensemble, learning interactive concert production techniques.
- prepare a presentation of their original work for the class.
- conduct extended multimedia research beyond the scope of the 435 student work and prepare a presentation on a multimedia software package or approach.