[C] Session taught by Prof. Ian Condry
[H] Session taught by Prof. Stefan Helmreich
Session 1: Introduction to the Course [C & H]
Session 2: Soundscapes, Acoustemologies, Space, Culture [H]
Sound/video examples and excerpts in class
- Voices Of The Rainforest: A Day In The Life Of The Kaluli People. Steven Feld. Rykodisc, 1991.
- “The Roaring Twenties: An Interactive Exploration of the Historical Soundscape of New York City.” Emily Thompson, Scott Mahoy, and Ben Johnston. 2019.
- “Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting In A Room.” 1969. YouTube.
- “I Am Sitting in a Zoom.” Tim Shaw and John Bowers. 2020. Bandcamp.
- “Here We All Are (Lucier Mix).” Cathy Lane. 2020. Bandcamp.
- “Convolution Reverb.” Advertised and explained by Ableton.
- “Sound System Outernational 2, 2nd July 2016.” Vimeo.
- Lovers Rock. Directed by Steve McQueen. Color, 70 min. 2020.
- “TCI IRL: Quarantine Supercut: The Creative Independent." Assembled and produced by Drew Daniel. 2020. Soundcloud.
Session 3: Make a Beat to Share in Class [C]
Guest: Toshiya Ueno, author, DJ, professor from Japan.
Assignment due: Beat sharing due (See Assignments section for further detail.)
Session 4: Listening Machines [H]
Guest: Dr. Beth Semel, MIT Department of Anthropology.
Sound/video examples and excerpts in class
- “Au Clair de la Lune” phonautogram. Éduoard-Léon Scott de Martinville. 1860, audified in 2008. Bandcamp.
- “Human Speech From a Piano…” (Speech spectrogram transformed to MIDI to activate “speaking” player piano.) Ledgernote.
- “Pianos Can Emulate Human Voices, Apparently.” (Spectrogram of Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” transformed to MIDI to activate player piano.) Kill Screen.
- “telharmonium documental 1.mp4.” (Magic Music from the Telharmonium. Reynold Weidenaar. Magnetic Music, 2006.) YouTube.
- “CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music - Nigel Stanford.” 2014. YouTube.
- “What do cochlear implants sound like? - 2: music.” (Simulation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” through cochlear implant.) Auditory Neuroscience.
- “Synapse: Robin Fox and the Bionic Ear.” YouTube.
- “D-PAN Interview: Christine Sun Kim - Sound Artist.” YouTube.
Session 5: Propose the Sound Object You Will Work on this Term; Bring a Clip to Demo Ideas [C]
Assignment due: Sound object proposal due (See Assignments section for further detail.)
Session 6: Phonograph Records, Tape, Compact Discs, MP3s, Algorithmic Streaming [H]
Sound/video examples and excerpts in class
- “1903 Edison Phonograph Recording Demo | Maker Faire Detroit.” (Clara Deck, Henry Ford Museum conservator demonstrates Edison phonograph.) YouTube.
- “Raymond Cass Audio - 1.” (Raymond Cass on electronic voice phenomena.) YouTube.
- “Led Zeppelin - Backward Masking 1983 (Televangelist).” (Televangelists play Led Zeppelin backward on Trinity Broadcasting Network, 1983.) YouTube.
- “The Loudness War.” YouTube.
- “How a Suzanne Vega Song Helped Create the MP3.” YouTube.
- Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast,” compressed 666 times. Cory Arcangel.
Film in class
- Scratch. Directed by Doug Pray. Color, 92 min. 2001.
Assignment due: Paper 1 due (See Assignments section for further detail.)
Session 7: Mid-Term Sharing of Sound Object Project [C]
See Assignments section for further detail.
Session 8: Sound, Culture, Technology, Property [C & H]
Sound/video examples and excerpts in class
- “8 Led Zeppelin Songs That ‘Rip Off’ Other Songs.” 2021. YouTube.
- “Copyright Criminals - Trailer.” 2010. YouTube.
- “U2: How Negativland Exposed U2’s Hypocrisy.” 2020. YouTube.
- “Negativland - Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Special Edit Radio Mix).” 1991. YouTube.
- “Madonna - What the F*ck Do You Think You’re Doing?” 2003. YouTube.
- Xerophonics: Copying Machine Music. Stefan Helmreich. 2003. Spotify.
- “The Harley-Davidson Sound Trademark.” Smit & Van Wyk.
- “DJ /rupture - Gold Teeth Thief.” 2001. YouTube.
- Boone, Christine. “Gendered Power Relationships in Mashups.” Music Theory Online 24, no. 1 (2018).
Session 9: Mixing, EQ, Compression, Other Effects [C]
See Assignments section for further detail.
Session 10: Sonic Privacy, Sonic Publics [H]
Sound/video examples and excerpts in class
- “Beats by Dre - Hear What You Want / Colin Kaepernick.” 2015. YouTube.
- “HELL YOU TALMBOUT - Janelle Monae f. Wondaland Records (video).” 2015. YouTube.
- “Janelle Monáe - Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout) (feat. Various Artists) [Official Lyric Video].” 2021. YouTube.
- “Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam.” 1965. YouTube.
- Chen, Shawna. “Yellow Pearl: Soundtrack of the Asian American Movement.” May 19, 2021. The Yappie.
Film in class
- Everybody In The Place: An Incomplete History of Britain, 1984–1992. Directed by Jeremy Deller. Color, 60 min. 2019. Vimeo.
Online lecture to be excerpted in class
- “Maria Sonevytsky, “Understanding the War on Ukraine through Its Musical Culture.” (Online lecture at Bard College, February 2022.) YouTube.
Session 11: Mastering vs. Spatializing for Final Mixes [C]
See Assignments section for further detail.
Session 12: The Sounds of Science [H]
Session 13: Discussion and reflection on final recording projects, processes of learning, and participant-observation in music and technology [C & H]
Assignment due: Sound object and Paper 2 due (See Assignments section for further detail.)
