Class Electronic and Experimental Music

This curricular unit aims at providing theoretical and practical knowledge of the technical and artistic components associated with electronic and experimental music. It allows for musical expression to take place within an undergraduate degree characterised by strong technical and applied modules.

1. Electro-acoustic music antecedents.
   1. Modernism in music.
   2. Futurist manifestos.
2. Introduction to musique concrète and electronic music.
   1. Pioneering studios (Paris, Cologne, USA).
   2. Post-war and history of algorithmic composition.
3. Introduction to digital audio programming.
   1. Virtual instrument and score.
   2. Wavetable synthesis: sinusoidal, triangular and square.
   3. Amplitude and frequency modulation.
   4. Additive and subtractive synthesis.
   5. Granular synthesis.
   6. Polyphony in synthesis.
4. Signal processing and analysis.
   1. Sound file as wave table.
   2. Digital filters.
   3. Comb filtering and flanger.
   4. Fourier transform.
5. Mixed-media and interactive music
   1. Notion of real-time and latency.
   2. Sound shaping in real-time.
   3. Direct sound.
6. Sound spatialization in two and four channels.
   1. Panning laws, phases and reverberation.

Analysis of theories, practices and techniques. Study and observation of examples. Intensive programming. Experimental music project development.

• Boulanger, R.C., Boulanger, P.E.P.D.R., Vercoe, B. and Mathews, M.V., 2000. The Csound Book: Perspectives in Software Synthesis, Sound Design, Signal Processing, and Programming. MIT Press.
• Dean, R.T., 2009. The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music. Oxford University Press.
• Manning, P., 2013. Electronic and Computer Music. Oxford University Press.
• Roads, C., 1996. The Computer Music Tutorial. MIT Press.
• Winkler, T., 2001. Composing Interactive Music: Techniques and Ideas Using Max. MIT Press.
• Zicarelli, D., 1999. Max. Cycling '74.