Topics in Music Technology

Course Description

This course aims to walk through the development of virtual instruments by using objects you can find in your surroundings. Students will start by exploring the major families of musical instruments (strings, winds, percussion, and electronic) learning how each produces sound through vibration, resonance, and acoustic physics. Then, students will learn how to express each instrument in a set of governing equations, and how to solve them on the computers. Finally, students will design their own virtual instruments using the physical principles to emulate create their own musical sounds.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to…

1. Classify the major categories of commercial musical instruments
2. Explain the principles of sound production for each instrument category
3. Design musical instruments using materials closely related to real life
4. Express a physical model that approximates the instrument of interest in equations
5. Create a running software/code that simulates the object of interest

Syllabus

TBA

Course Slides and Schedules

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Grading Policy

TBA