Music 222

Spring 2016-2017:

Historical background, theory and techniques on the use of space in music composition and diffusion. Listening and analysis of relevant pieces in our 3D Listening Room, Stage and Braun Rehearsal Hall experimental and concert spaces. Experimental hands-on work in spatialization techniques leading to a piece or short study to be diffused in a student presentation session or concert at the end of the quarter. Examples in various computer music languages will be discussed during the course.

In addition to the Listening Room 3D space (22.4 3D audio system) and the Stage (16.8 3D audio system), Studio D and E will also be available for class work with 8.1 systems. The Recording Studio can also be used with a more specialized (but limited) 5.1 audio setup. This year we will also have the Braun Rehearsal Hall available with a 25.6 deployment of our concert diffusion system.

Thanks for funds generously provided by the Shenson Family we will be able to invite some of the finest artists and practitioners in the field to participate in master classes, colloquiums and concerts during the Spring quarter. The first one to visit will be Hans Tutschku (from Harvard University) on the week of April 6th, he will participate on the class lectures during that week and present a concert of his works on April 10th in the Braun Rehearsal Hall. Both Juan Pampin (DXARTS, University of Washington) and Åke Parmerud will be visiting towards the end of the quarter and will also present master classes, colloquiums and pieces in concert.

The quarter will include a shared presentation and evening concerts for selected pieces in the Studio at Bing Concert Hall . (those will include presentations by Juan Pampin and Ake Parmerud). The Bing Studio will be rigged with our full 3D 25.7 large scale difussion system (as used in recent concerts in the same venue and the same system that will be available during the rest of the quarter in the Braun Rehearsal Hall). Two days of concerts will happen on May 20th and 21st together with student presentations.

Because of the very tight schedule leading up to the May presentations, students are strongly encouraged to have a piece or project plan in place on the first day of the class. Please contact me with any questions (Fernando Lopez-Lezcano, nando@ccrma.stanford.edu)

Topics to be explored in lectures include:

• Auditory cues and perception basics
• Microphone techniques
• Amplitude panning and VBAP
• Sound field synthesis: Ambisonics
• Sound field synthesis: Wave Field Synthesis
• HRTF and binaural rendering
• Acousmatique diffusion
• Reverberation and virtual rooms
• Installations, sound and space
• Large scale multichannel diffusion systems, challenges and solutions
• Listening and analysis of pieces by Berger, Chowning, Koenig, Lopez-Lezcano, Pampin, Parmerud, Pink Floyd, Saunders, Tutshku, Varese and many others.

This course is offered every two years. The next installment will take place during the Spring 2019 quarter.