DRAM 365: Form is Sound
Wednesday, 6:00-7:30 PM
Culbreth, Room BO010
Instructed by Michael Rasbury
This course has been made
possible with support from the Ernest “Boots” Mead Endowment.
The
statement “Architecture is frozen music,” reveals a universal theme of
expression underscoring all creative disciplines. Goethe’s idea suggests all
processes of creation and invention are connected by a human’s need to express
something, despite the final medium of construction. The expression could
be a new idea, an evolution of an existing solution, or a purely aesthetic
creation. What would a building sound like if the architect
had been a composer using vibrations as the medium of expression instead of
lines and shapes? It could be said that the architect “paints” with
building materials, the composer “constructs” using vibrations, and the
scientist “composes” forms and formulas using the “modes” of math and
physics. Is music a type of
“liquid architecture?”
OFFICE
Michael
Rasbury, Room 208B, Culbreth Theatre
Appointments
can be scheduled by phone at (434) 982-4542 or by email at mr2xk@virginia.edu.
COURSE GOAL
Through instructor-guided teamwork, the students of DRAM 365
will invent a process for converting the data representing the physical
aspects of an object into its representative sound. Existing sound and image
manipulating software as well as sound equipment will be our major tools for
achieving this goal.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
DRAM 365 is an exploratory
course designed to stimulate an intimate and multi-disciplinary collaboration
between faculty and students in order to develop processes for converting forms
into equivalent sounds. An
expected outcome for students is a lessening of the perceived differences
between disciplines through teamwork toward accomplishing our goal.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
You
should make every effort to be present at each class period. Excused absences are permitted. To receive an excused absence, please
notify me before the absence or provide an official notification after the absence. Each unexcused absence will result in the
lowering of your final grade percentage by three (3) percentage points per
absence.
SAMPLE CALENDAR
January 14 Meet
for the first time and experiment with Chladni Plate; Create a plan for action
January
21 Brainstorming
Session, Develop a Thesis
January
28 Brainstorming
Session, Research
February
4 Brainstorming
Session, Research
February
11 Research
and Development
February
18 Research
and Development
February
25 Development
March
11 Development,
Michael potentially in New York
March
18 Development,
Michael potentially in New York
March
25 Development
April
1 Formalize
a Presentation
April
8 Work
on Presentation
April
15 Work
on Presentation
April
22 Run-through
Presentation
September
20, 2009 Potential
Appearance at Mead Endowment Dinner to share Results!
GRADING
Given
the exploratory nature of this course, those students actively involved with
the creation of the “form to sound” process will receive an “A”. Any student not actively involved with
our mission or missing more than three class periods will receive an “F”.
Participation 100%
This
is a subjective evaluation of the student’s performance during class meetings
based on the following criteria: 1) Attitude and Inquisitiveness- the student
displays an eagerness to learn from others, 2) Congeniality- the student collaborates
well with others during the semester, 3)
Preparedness- the student is prepared for class, ready to support discussions
with his or her ideas, and concerned about the quality of presented work, 4)
Promptness- the student is always on time for each session.
I
would like to post our results on my University of Virginia Sound Design
website. If you have any
objections to this, please notify me.
IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE
January 23, Last Day to Drop a Class.
January 30, Last Day for Adding New
Courses, Last Day to Elect the AU (Audit) Option, and Last Day to Change to or
from “Credit/No Credit” Option.
March 10, Last Day to Withdraw from a
Course.
Students
needing special accommodations are encouraged to discuss the need with the
professor as soon as possible.
The syllabus and/or each
rubric is subject to change at any time, without prior notice, and it is the
responsibility of the student to keep informed of changes, new material, or
missed content.