Courses

Interactive Music Programming (MUS336/IMM350) (Spring only) (selected final projects from Spring 2021)

In this course, students develop basic software coding skills to support and enrich musical activities such as composing, performing, improvising, analyzing, or teaching music in a K-12 classroom. We focus on MIDI, interface design, and controllers. We also learn fundamentals of computer programming including loops, Boolean logic, conditional statements, and data structures. The Max8 development environment allows us to build, test, and present our real-time music systems. In creating and performing with these systems, students develop new ways of thinking about and making music. Satisfies the Liberal Learning Quantitative Reasoning requirement; also satisfies the Music Technology requirement for Music majors.

Scoring for Media (MUS350/IMM352) (Fall only) (Fall 2020 course lectures on YouTube)

Music can powerfully support and enhance the experience of video games, Virtual Reality, and other interactive media systems. As with film scores, media scores and recordings provide subtle backchannels to audience emotions and structural elements that cue anticipation, suspense, memory, and learning. The best media scores can transform a good piece of visual and gestural interaction into a great piece of art! Students in this course will review several media scores across a variety of genres, investigate the use and development of musical character and level themes, and develop techniques for composition, production, flexible timing, and expressive variation.

Audio Signal Processing (MUS335/IMM351) (Fall only)

In this course, students learn the basics of digital audio and how to synthesize sound using algorithms. We focus on generating, shaping, describing, and transforming musical sound. The Max programming environment allows us to model and build our simulations in software. We then apply our quantitative methods to musical activities such as composing, performing, improvising, analyzing, or teaching music in a K-12 classroom. By exploring the basic principles of audio and creating individual projects, students develop new ways of thinking about and making music. Satisfies the Liberal Learning Quantitative Reasoning requirement; also satisfies the Music Technology requirement for Music majors.

Advanced Options courses in Music Technology (IMM470/MUS370) (Fall only) (article on the 2020 course) (web app created by students in Fall 2020)

These rotating special topics have included Live Electronic Music Performance (Fall 2021), User-Centered Musical Design (Fall 2020), Trenton Makes Music (Fall 2016), New Interfaces for Musical Expression (Spring 2016), Conducting Robots (2009-2011), and IMM 460 Game Design II (with a focus on music composition).

Senior Thesis (IMM499) (Spring only) (May 2021 Senior Showcase website)

This course is the second in a two-semester sequence, preceded by IMM 498, that prepares you to develop an ambitious and innovative media project. While the first semester was an opportunity for thorough research, exploration, and experimentation, this final semester is focused on building a project that embodies and reflects your earlier research and conceptual work. As you develop your project, you’ll also explore varying approaches to individual creative discipline and project management. Along the way, you’ll consider strategies for promoting and showcasing your work, including cultivating an audience, developing an online portfolio, and presenting at an end-of-the-semester public exhibition.

Electronic Music (MUS345/IMM250) (Fall and Spring)

This course introduces students to electronic music studio techniques, including MIDI, sequencing, sound synthesis, sampling, mixing, and audio production. It also covers theoretical and historical developments in the field of electronic music, including a review of compositions, styles, and technologies. Students create their own musical compositions in the computer lab. Open to students of any major. Satisfies the Liberal Learning domain of Literary, Visual & Performing Arts.

Past Courses taught:

Design Perspectives in IMM (IMM 280)

Musicianship 1, 2, 3 (MUS261, 262, 263) (integrated music theory, ear training, and sight singing)

Game Design (IMM370)

Audio Recording and Production (MUS337/IMM251)

student performances from the Interactive Music Programming course: