New Interfaces for Musical Expression
H79.2227 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructors: Gideon D’Arcangelo, Jamie Allen
Class Description: The course will focus on the design and creation of digital musical instruments. Music in performance is the primary subject of this class. We will approach questions such as “What is performance?”, “What makes a musical interface intuitive and emotionally immediate?” and “How do we create meaningful correlations between performance gestures and their musical consequences?” Over the semester, we will look at many examples of current work by creators of musical interfaces, and discuss a wide range of issues facing technology-enabled performance - such as novice versus virtuoso performers, discrete versus continuous data control, the importance of haptic responsiveness as well as the relationship between musical performance and visual display. Extensive readings and case studies will provide background for class discussions on the theory and practice of designing gestural controllers for musical performance.
Students will design and prototype a musical instrument - a complete system encompassing musical controller, algorithm for mapping input to sound, and the sound output itself. A technical framework for prototyping performance controllers will be made available. Students will focus on musical composition and improvisation techniques as they prepare their prototypes for live performance. The class will culminate in a musical performance where students (or invited musicians) will demonstrate their instruments.
Prerequisites: (Introduction to Computational Media) and (Physical Computing)
Materials and Building Strategies
H79.2025 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor: Peter Menderson
Is what we are building engaging enough to the audience that it could stand on its own or are we simply building a container to disguise the computer? The purpose of this course is to consider the non-digital components that are crucial to successful project building. From techniques for making small objects to fabrication methods for kiosks and installations, students gain hands-on experience with a variety of materials and methods. Hand and power tools and shop procedures are demonstrated with an emphasis on safety and accuracy. Materials from the everyday to the exotic are considered in terms of workability, availability and appropriateness of use. Students are encouraged to put their ideas quickly into three-dimensional form and to edit and refine them using basic prototyping techniques. Throughout the course we focus on allowing user experience to inform and balance the elements of what we build. Ingrained cultural associations with what things are made of and how they are built are considered as part of the process. The goal is to amplify the project concept by building and rebuilding, incorporating the little discoveries encountered along the way, leading ultimately to work that is a surprise both to the maker as well as to the viewer.
Living Art
H79.2534 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor: Todd Holoubek
Generative Art creates a process of evolution, where most art imitates life, generative art has a life of it’s own. Living Art combines Physical Computing and Generative Art, providing an environment for students interested in pursuing an artistic outlet for their physical computing skills. Generative Art has been chained to the personal computer for too long. What would happen if we took the algorithms employed in software art and applied them to the physical world through sensors and reactive elements? Or, like Ned Kahn’s piece “Wind,” apply laws of nature to physical works? In this class we apply simple rules to dictate the shape or function of a work and add to it an inherent complexity that is both beautiful and intelligent. By combining the simple rules, or a system, with physical computing, we are marrying the work to the intention of the artist. This helps us define what we are doing when we create, and takes the assignments beyond exercises in executing basic electronics and drives them to an intention. Living Art extracts the generative approach from the personal computer and applies it to the physical world. In some cases it is very clear how we can apply the Generative methods in the use of motors or light grids, but how do we apply fuzzy logic? Where do we use the Golden Section with an FSR, proximity sensor or how do we create algorithmic motion in the physical world? This class is for students who have completed Intro to Physical Computing.
Live Image Processing and Performance
H79.2422 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor: Luke DuBois
This course teaches the ins and outs of using image processing software with an aim towards some type of real-time use (e.g. a performance or installation). The class looks at ways to manipulate different visual media (time-based, still, vector, and rendered) in real-time to allow students to develop interesting real-time performance systems. While the focus of this class is on using Max for visual work (through a software package called Jitter), it also looks at how to integrate interactive elements (sound, physical interfaces, etc.) into the work. Class time is spent on interface design and software development issues as well. The class explores some interesting capabilities of the software in terms of real-time camera input and tracking, generative graphics systems, and media transcoding. Throughout the class students develop and share ideas on live performance as a medium for visual expression, and learn the software tools necessary to put these ideas into practice in the form of idiosyncratic performance systems. A final presentation in the form of a group performance will be arranged. Students should have some working knowledge of Max/MSP before taking this class.
Internship
Instructor: Eric Singer
Worked on a fully mechanical production of Ballet Mechanique that was exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Learned the use of the mill and basic machining in aluminum.
Designed and created Hydrobot Mark I, a robot that makes music using pressurized water. Hydrobot Mark I performed at the ITP TOOL show at Tonic nightclub in NYC.