Other Quick Info:

FEE: $450 in person full-time, $250 online part-time

Required Software: SuperCollider (It’s free!)

MODALITY: in person full-time or over zoom part-time

DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP: to apply, fill out the form here!

What is SuperCollider?

SuperCollider is a powerful and fun programming environment focused on real-time sound synthesis, signal processing, and algorithmic and generative composition. It is widely used for performances, compositions, sound art, and many other audio-related applications. SuperCollider is completely free of charge, open source, and available for MacOS, Windows, and Linux. On top of all this, SuperCollider’s IDE and fully featured object oriented language make it easy and rewarding for anyone to learn!

Making Music with SuperCollider!

This five-day workshop welcomes participants of any discipline, with or without prior programming or musical experience. The class is for musicians, composers, sound artists, programmers, researchers, and anyone else who’s excited to learn more about SuperCollider!

This is a project-based workshop in which you will learn the practical skills you need to achieve your audio-related goals, whatever they may be! In-person students will immediately start working on a project of their choice the first day, and are expected to finish a short project by the last day. In-person students interested in exploring SuperCollider’s capabilities for spatial audio will have access to CCRMA’s facilities for working with ambisonics or other spatial audio formats, including the CCRMA Stage and Listening Room. Online part-time students are certainly encouraged to complete a final project, but part-time students will have much less dedicated time for personalized feedback. We’ll end the week with a listening party where all participants (including any part-time participants who wish to submit a final project virtually) will get to play and discuss their final projects.

If you have no prior programming and/or musical experience, don’t worry! The lectures and individualized feedback during labs will guide you through the creation of your first sounds, instruments and musical structures in SuperCollider. On the other hand, if you have some prior experience with SuperCollider or other audio-focused programming languages, you will be able to move more quickly into the advanced topics you’re most interested in, with help and advice from the instructor.

Schedule

We will meet Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with a one-and-a-half hour break for lunch at 12:00. Because this is a project-based course, mornings will typically consist of a lecture interspersed with miniature do-it-yourself exercises, and afternoons will consist of lab time to work individually on projects with personalized one-on-one help from the instructor. Below is a rough overview of the course schedule, with later topics subject to change as the course is tailored to fit students’ specific interests.

Monday

• Introductions

• What is SuperCollider, and how do I make sounds with it? (“Hello world!”)

• Making melodies with basic patterns and sequencing

• Synthesis: making cool sounds with additive/subtractive methods and beyond!

• Brainstorming and preparation time for final projects

Tuesday

• Pspawner and other tools for more advanced song structures

• Making even cooler sounds with AM/FM synthesis and basic audio effects

• Playing with live audio inputs and pre-recorded sounds (subject to change based on students’ specific interests)

• Individual meetings and project preparation time

Wednesday

• Advanced audio effects and sound design in SuperCollider (subject to change based on students’ specific interests)

• Individual meetings and project preparation time

Thursday

• An introduction to spatial audio in SuperCollider (subject to change based on students’ specific interests)

• Individual meetings and project preparation time

Friday

• Final preparations and individual meetings for projects in the morning

• Afternoon presentations: friends and family are welcome to join!

Diversity in Computer Music Scholarship

A limited number of scholarships are available to promote the engagement of students from underrepresented backgrounds in the field of electronic and computer music, including gender, ethnicity, age, disability, area of study, or financial ability. More information is available is available along with the form to apply for the scholarship here!

About the Instructor

Josh Mitchell is a composer, musician, and researcher born and raised in the Bay Area. He is currently a master’s student at CCRMA, and holds Bachelor’s degrees in Music and Physics from Santa Clara University. There, he was a member of the Santa Clara Laptop Orchestra (or SCLOrk, for short) for four years, helped teach several courses on music-making and sound design with SuperCollider, and worked to develop SCLOrkSynths, a hands-on learning tool for sound synthesis in SuperCollider. These experiences ignited his passion for teaching, and he’s excited to share the joys of sound-making in SuperCollider with you!

If you have any questions about the workshop, please reach out to Josh at jomitch@ccrma.stanford.edu.