Interactive Music Systems (21M.385 / 21M.585 / 6.4450)

Instructor: Eran Egozy

Fall 2026: TR 11:00am-12:30pm 4-270

Interactive Music Systems is a hands-on programming and design course, requiring extensive and advanced knowledge of Python (including object-oriented programming). Students write code to learn about 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.

Students learn about the principles, design considerations, and aesthetic qualities of interactive music systems by exploring the following topics:
– Real-time audio synthesis
– Mixing, looping, pitch shifting
– Graphics and animation techniques for UI, visualization, and aesthetics
– MIDI sequencing and algorithmic music creation
– Motion sensors and alternative interfaces
– Music games

Weekly assignments require both technical solutions to specific problems and creative implementations of your own design. The class requires a final project where student teams propose, design, and build an original, dynamic, and engaging interactive music system.

Pre-requisites:
Programming: 6.1010 or an advanced command of Python and building software systems.
Music: 21M.051 or fluency reading music and first year college-level music theory, including scales, modes, chord progressions, and basic composition.

Offered fall and spring.

Please note: Priority is given to students who preregister for the class. Preregistered students will receive a questionnaire two weeks before reg day. If you hope to cross-register from Harvard or Wellesley (and therefore cannot preregister), please email the course instructor (egozy@mit.edu) two weeks before reg day to receive the questionnaire link. Enrollment is determined based on answers to the questionnaire and a lottery of the qualified students, with a slight preference for MIT music majors, minors, and concentrators. Completing the prerequisites is a major factor in determining if a student is qualified. You will be notified as to your enrollment status a few days before reg day.