About this course: How can we use computers to create expressive, compelling music? And how can we write computer software to help us create and organize sounds in new ways? This course provides a hands-on introduction to the field of music technology as both a creative musical practice and an interdisciplinary technical research pursuit. Students will be able to compose music in digital audio workstation software using both audio and symbolic representations; to write code to algorithmically generate music, analyze sound, and design sound; and to describe the essential theory and history behind these activities as well as their connection to cutting-edge computer music research. Through the exploration of topics such as acoustics, psychoacoustics, digital sound, digital signal processing, audio synthesis, spectral analysis, algorithmic composition, and music information retrieval, we will explore the deep relationships between art and science, between theory and practice, and between experimental and popular electronic music. We will learn about these topics in the context of digital audio workstation (DAW) software, the multi-track editing paradigm that has been dominant in music production since the 1980s. As we learn about the foundations behind such software, we will use this knowledge to more effectively create music with it, and we will also write a series of short software programs that extend the software’s ability to manipulate, transform, and analyze sound.
Taught by: Dr. Jason A. Freeman, Professor
School of Music
| Commitment | 5-7 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: Consent Form
- Video: Course Introduction
- Video: Soundscape Composition
- Video: Brian Whitman: A Singular Christmas
- Video: Course Structure and Expectations
- Discussion Prompt: Meet and Greet
- Reading: Get More From Georgia Tech
- Video: Sound Waves
- Video: Psychoacoustics
- Video: Timbre
- Video: Digital Sound
- Video: Sampling Rate
- Video: Bit Width
- Video: Channels and Spatialization
- Video: Digital Audio Storage
- Video: Frequency Domain Analysis
- Video: Changing the Pitch and Speed of Sound
- Reading: Video References: Course Introduction
- Reading: Video References: The Basics of Sound
- Video: Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs)
- Video: Getting Audio into the DAW
- Video: Editing Audio in the DAW
- Video: Using Effects in the DAW
- Video: Basic Audio Effects Part I
- Video: Basic Audio Effects Part II
- Video: Rendering Your DAW Project
- Reading: Video References: Digital Audio Workstations
- Video: What is MIDI?
- Video: Types of MIDI Devices
- Video: The MIDI Specification Part I
- Video: The MIDI Specification Part II
- Video: Sequencing in the DAW
- Video: Editing MIDI in the DAW
- Video: Effects and MIDI in the DAW
- Video: Loop-Based Sequencing
- Video: Project A
- Reading: Video References: Working with MIDI
- Video: Algorithmic Composition
- Video: EarSketch
- Video: Our First Earsketch Script
- Video: Algorithmic Composition in EarSketch
- Video: Placing Sounds in the DAW
- Video: Pattern Sequencing in EarSketch Part I
- Video: Pattern Sequencing in EarSketch Part II
- Video: Effects in EarSketch
- Reading: Video References: Algorithmic Composition Basic Techniques
- Video: Data Sonification
- Video: Chance Music
- Video: Stochastic Composition
- Video: Process Music
- Video: Musical Modeling
- Video: Synthesis and Signal Processing
- Video: Unit Generators
- Video: Project B
- Reading: Video References: Algorithmic Composition Advanced
- Video: Music Information Retrieval
- Video: Machine Musicianship
- Video: Live Coding
- Video: New Musical Interfaces
- Video: Mobile Music
- Video: Networked Music
- Video: Where Do I Go From Here?
- Reading: Earn a Georgia Tech Badge/Certificate/CEUs
- Reading: Video References: Future Directions
- Reading: Where to go from here
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
This was my first online course. I learned a lot and received helpful feedback from other students in the class. It was all free and a done at my own pace. The teacher was knowledgable and conveyed the information in an interesting and understandable way.
Far surpassed my expectations: Great tutor, massive breadth of material.
Earsketch deserves it's own course.
Brilliant!
From the course title I formed the impression "here is an opportunity to have an overview of the panorama of technology used in music". I could become the proverbial 'Jack of All Trades - Master of None'. During the course I was sensitised to the various 'trades' of music
developed using technology. I was able to hone my skills in the use of a commercial grade DAW and the Python programming language via EarSketch - a bonus. Prof. Freeman's video lectures were engaging, informative and thought provoking - so information packed that I had to read the transcripts to internalise the content and appreciate the depth of his lectures.
T
SN
A lot of fun. Interesting tech.