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Syllabus2008New Interfaces for Musical Expression
Assignments and ReadingsWhile the central purpose of this class is to produce and perform an instrument, there are a number of assignments and readings that are also required. These are designed to bring clarity, structure, and inspiration to the process. The assignments and readings are always due the week after they are assigned (i.e. the next class). Performance CritiqueEvery week, we will watch a performance then critique it. The central idea is to focus on what is happening in the performance rather than whether we liked it or not. The discussion can cover any topic, the only thing that is not allowed are judgments, like "I liked it", or "that sucked", or "that's a nice guitar sound". Instead people should talk about the music, sound, and performance itself, how the parts all relates to the whole, whether the gestures fit with the sound, etc. This kind of critical listening can be very valuable for developing a keen sense of listening, though it can be a bit difficult to learn at first. Weekly Progress JournalOnce production is underway, you are expected to keep a weekly journal of what you worked on for your project. This is very close to the journals from Intro to Physical Computing, except that these journal entries will all relate to the same project: your NIME instrument. Performance PlanStarting on week 9, create your performance plan. The key idea is to map out how your performance will proceed – how it will begin, how it will unfold, and how it will end. This material needs to be handed to us or put online by week 12. Use the performance planning strategy that makes the most sense for your piece and for your instrument.
BE ABLE to close your eyes and walk through your whole performance from pre-beginning to post-end. Rehearse it on the subway train, when you’re walking. The key for each rehearsal, real or imagined, is maintaining continuity. Do not stop or let it be interrupted. It can fast or glacially slow, but it must be continuous. Grading Criteria:
Weeks 1-6: Concept Development(9/3) Week 1: The Role of Music in Everyday LifeIn order to frame the work of the class, this session provides a look at music in everyday life. We look at the meaning that can be created by music, and the ways in which music is ‘used’ by people in ritual, social and identity definition. With the dominance of recorded music, our experience of music is now mostly as a passive listener, rather than as a engaged participant. This is a dramatic change from the origins of music. Performance Critique: Playing the Building: An Installation by David Byrne (video1) (video2)
(9/10) Week 2: Why Performance Tools?For millenia, musical instruments were physical devices, whose interfaces and sound generating mechanisms were intertwined; You control a guitar string with your fingers and it directly generates the sound. Now with electronic and computer synthesis, this relationship changes, the interface no longer generates the sound. This opens up the possibilities for design, providing many advantages but also inevitably disadvantages. Performance Critique: Wheel Experience - Younnat
(9/17) Week 3: Types of Musical ToolsTypes and approaches to New Interfaces for Musical Expression. An example-based look at the lineage of musical interfaces from acoustic to electronic systems, as well as some examples of interesting NIME projects. Performance Critique: Mouse on Mars - Twift Shoeblade
(9/24) Week 4: Musical Interface as Interaction Design ChallengeGuest Professor: Gideon D'Arcangelo We look at the larger ‘problem’ of human computer interaction design, set in the context of the history of human factors engineering. We consider Bill Verplank’s progression of design systems that better factor in human participation from making them safe to effective to efficient to satisfying. We then look at the special challenges of musical interface design, and the difference between “button” and “handle” controls. Performance Critique: Michael Waisvisz - the Hands, @ NIME'03 in Montreal
(10/1) Week 5: Concept Presentations 1Guest Professor: Greg Shakar This class is devoted to 1/2 of the classes’ concept presentations. Students in the class present the idea they will be implementing during the term. Each presentation will be limited to 15 minutes. Performance Critique: Scribble
(10/8) Week 6: Concept Presentations 2This class is devoted to 1/2 of the classes’ concept presentations. Students in the class present the idea they will be implementing during the term. Each presentation will be limited to 15 minutes. Performance Critique: Daedelus - Live in San Antonio - Outtro
Weeks 7-11: Prototype Development(10/15) Week 7: Responding to ConceptsAfter hearing the class presentations from the last two weeks, the instructors respond to the ideas, with case studies of similar directions, different approaches to implementation. Performance Critique: sCrAmBlEd?HaCkZ!
(10/22) Week 8: Tools for CreativityAn important impetus for the building of creative musical tools is to distance ourselves and our audience from the trappings of traditional hierarchies of musical performance. The act of creating an expressive outlet or tool is one of political and economic impact. 1st Guest Presentation: Paris Treantafeles
(10/29) Week 9: Studio Class – Performance PlanningThere are many methodologies, documentation frameworks and notations musicians and performers use to prepare their pieces. These ideas speak to the intention, context and at times political motivation of the performer. Using examples from artists who thought a great deal about the meaning of their performance frameworks, we will devise our own approaches for our NIME instruments. Performance Critique: reacTable: improvisation demo
(11/5) Week 10: Prototype Presentations 1In this class, students will give presentations of their musical interface prototypes, in a forum for class/instructor evaluation and feedback. Half of the class will present this week. Performance Critique: Tetrishead, by Zoe Keating with the Quantum Cello
(11/12) Week 11: Prototype Presentations 2In this class, students will give presentations of their musical interface prototypes, in a forum for class/instructor evaluation and feedback. The other half of the class will present this week. Performance Critique: vienna vegetable orchestra
Weeks 12-14: Performance Development(11/19) Week 12: Musical RecyclingIn this class, we discuss the aesthetic issues around sampling, scratching and other forms of musical appropriation as primary creative expression. Guest Presentation: Dan Paluska showing the Absolut Quartet (video) Performance Critique:
(12/3) Week 13: Work-in-Progress ReviewAll NIME projects are required to be on the ITP floor during this period. We will review each project, assess all staging and technical requirements for the performance, and gather information to generate the running order for the final show. NOTE: You can have your project anywhere you want on the floor - it must be functioning and making sound. We have our usual room 447 signed out during this time if you want to bring it there. Guest Presentation: Bob Huott - The Bean
Week 14: Full Day Rehearsal - Saturday, 12/13Full run-through of concert, from 3PM until 9PM. Pizza will be served at the end. MANDATORY PERFORMANCE AT PUBLIC VENUETentative date, to be confirmed. It will be around the same time as the ITP show, so before making holiday travel plans, be sure that you know the date of the performance. |