Course Description
A study of the influence of technology on musical culture and aesthetics from the twentieth century to the present, with particular emphasis on the role of the computer.
This study necessarily involves many disciplines: music, physics and acoustics, cognitive science, computer science, electronic audio technology, and media criticism.
The course will include such topics as:
- What is sound? What is noise? What is music?
- Physical/mathematical definitions
Traditional/cultural definitions
Theoretical/philosophical definitions - Representations of music: How do we describe music?
- Notations
Literary descriptions
Recording methods
Descriptive theories
Generative theories - Music epistemology
- What do we know as a fact about music? How can we prove it?
What do we know about music only because we were taught it?
Do we understand music “naturally”? - Scientific method and musical thought
- Pythagoreas, Rameau, Helmholtz, Fourier, et al
- Instruments and technological progress
- Changes in instrumental technique and technology from one period to another
The use and importance of amplification and electronics
The effects of recording technology
The musical implications of computer technology - Effects of the Industrial Revolution
- Russolo and Futurism
Antheil & Honegger
Varèse and Cage
Musique concrète, industrial, and noise music
Comparing the sonic environments of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries
How are attitudes toward technology expressed in music? - Mass media – mass communication
- Music as consumer commodity: the recording industry
Music for the masses: radio and television
Whose culture is it? Who owns it? Who produces it? Who consumes it?
Do (all) musicians have freedom of expression?
Do we live in a “global village”? Do we want to? - Electronic music
- What attracted composers to electronic instruments?
Does electronic music threaten performers? - Music with computers
- Digital representation of audio and music
Digital sound synthesis
Digital signal processing
Computer control of musical instruments and other devices - Music by computers
- Systematic and automated music
Artificial intelligence, heuristics, and models of human behavior
Computer cognition of music - Multimedia
- Technology as a link between the arts
What is “interactivity”? Can computers interact with others?
Does “virtual reality” require “virtual music”? What is “hypermusic”? - The future of music
- …
Work will include lectures, readings, listenings, discussions, demonstrations, writing, and experimentation.
Course Requirements
- Participation in at least 90% of all class meeting time.
- Adequate preparation for class discussions and presentations: timely completion of reading, listening, writing, and computer assignments.
- Completion of assigned technical exercises in computer sound processing and synthesis, demonstrating an understanding of basic computer music techniques.
- Periodic quizzes and a final exam.
Course Grades
Grading for the course will be based on timely completion of all the course requirements. Since every requirement is considered a vital part of the educational experience of the course, serious and high quality work is expected at all times. Grading will be based in more or less equal proportion on the following activities:
- Quiz scores,
- Technical assignments,
- Final exam.
Final Exam
The final exam for the course will be held Thursday August 1, 2013, 9:00-11:50 in HH 262.
Regarding Academic Integrity
Plagiarism of any kind is a violation of UCI policy on Academic Honesty, and penalties for plagiarism can be severe. In this class you will be expected to attribute due credit to the originator of any ideas, words, sounds, or work which you incorporate substantially into your own work. This applies particularly to citation of sources for quotes and ideas included in your writings and projects.
Disability
If you have a disability that inhibits you from performing any of the stated requirements of this course, as approved and documented by the UCI Disability Services Center, please ensure that the professor is thoroughly aware of the matter as early in the term as possible.