Read the Course Description, see recent Syllabus, or check out Final Projects from previous years.
Interactive Music Systems is always over-subscribed and has a limited number of slots (36).
Priority will be given to students who pre-register for the class. Pre-registered students will receive a questionnaire two weeks before Reg Day. Enrollment is determined based on answers to the questionnaire and a lottery of the qualified students. You will be notified as to your enrollment status a few days before reg day.
IMS is next offered:
- Spring 2023. MW11-12:30
- 4-270
- Instruction: Eran Egozy
- TA: Tiffany Huang
Course Description
Interactive Music Systems is a hands on programming and design course that explores audio synthesis, musical structure, HCI (human computer interaction), and visual presentation as the ingredients for the creation of engaging real-time interactive musical experiences.
These experiences allow users to connect with music more deeply than through passive listening. The most successful ones give users intuitive control, greater musical insight, and a deeper emotional response to the musical experience.
Some examples include:
- Games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Fantasia: Music Evolved.
- Performance rigs like V Motion.
- Ocarina for iPhone
- The Axe (start video at 3:48)
Students will learn about the principles, design considerations, and aesthetic qualities of interactive music systems by exploring the following topics:
- Music perception and audio synthesis
- Dynamic multi-track audio mixing and looping
- MIDI/audio synchronization
- Generative composition systems including rhythmic and melodic synthesis
- Exploration of non-standard control devices such as game controllers, motion sensors (Kinect, Leap Motion), and pad controllers.
- Analysis and application of design elements in music games.
- Building graphics for UI, music visualization, and aesthetic cohesion.
The course is taught using the python programming language and therefore fluency in python is a prerequisite. Weekly assignments consist of programming exercises and content creation that equally emphasize the development of technical skills and creativity. The class requires a final project where student teams propose, design, and build an original, dynamic, and engaging interactive music system.
Final Projects from Previous Terms
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- Fall 2022
- Spring 2022
- Fall 2021
- Spring 2021
- Fall 2020
- Spring 2020
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- Spring 2019
- Fall 2018
- Spring 2018
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