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The Anthropology of Sound, Spring 2008

Abstract:: This class examines the ways humans experience the realm of sound and how perceptions and technologies of sound emerge from cultural, economic, and historical worlds. In addition to learning about how environmental, linguistic, and musical sounds are construed cross-culturally, students learn about the rise of telephony, architectural acoustics, and sound recording, as well as about the globalized travel of these technologies. Questions of ownership, property, authorship, and copyright in the age of digital file sharing are also addressed. A major concern will be with how the sound/noise boundary has been imagined, created, and modeled across diverse sociocultural and scientific contexts. Auditory examples--sound art, environmental recordings, music--will be provided and invited throughout the term.

Composing with Computers I (Electronic Music Composition), Spring 2008

Abstract:: A series of progressive composition projects, culminating in a large final projecting, using various types of music hardware and software. Instruction in recording, editing, synthesis, sampling, digital sound processing, sequencing, and interactive systems. Close listening to computer and electronic music from various genres including Varese, Cage, Schaeffer, Xenakis, Lansky, Stockhausen, Tcherepnin, Barlow, Gunter, and Eno. Subject focuses on using the computer as a means of musical creativity and intuition.

Abstract:: Begins with the premise that the 1960s mark a great dividing point in the history of twentieth-century Western musical culture, and explores the ways in which various social and artistic concerns of composers, performers, and listeners have evolved since that decade. Focuses on works by classical composers from around the world. Topics to be explored include: the impact of rock, as it developed during the 1960s-70s; the concurrent emergence of post-serial, neo-tonal, Minimalist, and New Age styles; the globalization of Western musical traditions; the impact of new technologies; and the significance of music video, video games, and other versions of (digital) multimedia. Interweaves discussion of these topics with close study of seminal musical works, evenly distributed across the four decades since 1960. Works by MIT composers included.

Abstract:: This course focuses on popular music, i.e. music created for and transmitted by mass media. Various popular music genres from around the world will be studied through listening, reading and written assignments, with an emphasis on class discussion. In particular, we will consider issues of musical change, syncretism, Westernization, globalization, the impact of recording industries, and the post-colonial era. Case studies will include Afro-pop, reggae, bhangra, rave, and global hip-hop.

Abstract:: An introduction to the methods of recording, evaluating, and communicating about the urban environment. Through visual observation, field analysis, measurements, interviews, and other means, students learn to draw on their senses and develop their ability to deduce, conclude, question, and test conclusions about how the environment is used and valued. Through the use of representational tools such as drawing, photographing, computer modeling and desktop publishing, students communicate what is observed as well as their impressions and ideas. Intended as a foundation for future studio work in urban design.