course summary:

In recent years, technologies for synthesizing, processing and controlling sound, as well as those for embedded computing, sensing and inter-device communication have become independently mature. This course deals with technology-mediated aesthetically-grounded design of new interfaces for musical expression, and the questions the arise therein: What happens when human behaviors meet those of machines? How do the technology we use determine the form of interaction? How might design embrace both capabilities and limitations of human performance and affordances of machines? What new music practices or art forms may emerge with the new instruments we create? Coursework includes a series of exercises introducing sensors, circuits, micro-controllers, communication, and programmable sound synthesis, as well as reflective, critical discussion of new technology in the service of music and art.