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Syllabus2009This was somewhat edited and is not the exact syllabus from 2009 - but it is close New 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 CritiqueFrequently, we will watch a performance then critique it. The point is to focus on what is happening in the performance rather than whether we liked it or not. The discussion can cover any topic, with the emphasis being on what can be gleaned about music composition and performance. Rather than statements like, “I liked it” or “it sucked,” focus should be placed on the the factors that contribute to your aesthetic reaction. The composition, timbres, the performance itself, how the parts relate to the whole, whether the gestures fit with the sound, etc. This kind of critical mindset can be very valuable for developing a keen sense of listening, though it can be a bit difficult to learn at first. 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 in on paper. 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(9/7) 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: Michael Waisvisz - the Hands, @ NIME'03 in Montreal Performance Critique: Ariel Nevarez - Mimbre, @ ITP NIME SHOW '09 in Brooklyn
(9/14) 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: Scribble
(9/21) 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
(9/28) Week 4: Musical Interface as Interaction Design ChallengeWe 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: Wheel Experience - Younnat
(10/5) Week 5: Concept Presentations 1This 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: Effet Papillon - Mylene Benoit / Cie Contour Progressif (local mirror)
(10/12) 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 (local mirror)
Weeks 7-11: Prototype Development(10/19) Week 7: Responding to Concepts / PdAfter 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. How to use Pd for creating, reading, writing, and remixing sound Guest Presentation: Action Potential - Torino|Margolis with Lee Azzarello and Dana Kolter
(10/26) Week 8: Physical Computing for NIMEPhysical computing methods for getting the full potential out of sensors and responsive outputs from electronics. Performance Critique: artificiel cubing, performance with Rubik's Cubes (video)
(11/2) 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
(11/9) 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:
(11/16) 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: Build It!(11/23) Week 12: WorkshopFull class workshop, details TBD. (11/30) Week 13: Work-in-Progress ReviewProgress review, job assignments, staging discussion, workshoping. (12/7) Week 14: Dress Rehearsal 6:30-midnightAll 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 will do a full run-through of concert. Pizza will be served. MANDATORY PERFORMANCE AT PUBLIC VENUE on December 14Tentative date, to be confirmed. This will require you to be available all day. The performance is scheduled for Tuesday, 12/14, 8-11pm: http://itp.nyu.edu/nime/show |