Browsing by Subject "music technology"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Blurred lines: Practical and theoretical implications of a DAW-based pedagogy
    (Intellect, 2020-08-01) Walzer, Daniel; Music and Arts Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    Digital audio workstations (DAWs) occupy a prominent space in the creative arts. Songwriters, composers, producers, and audio engineers use a combination of software and virtual instruments to record and make music. Educators increasingly find DAWs useful for teaching concepts in signal flow, acoustics and sound synthesis, and to model analogue processes. As the creative industries shift to primarily software-based platforms, the identities, roles, and responsibilities of the participants intersect and blur. Similarly, networked technologies change the space and place of creative activity. Now, the ‘studio’ exists virtually anywhere. For educators working with students, these changing paradigms present a series of challenges. This article explores the DAW’s possibilities across three areas: space and place, theory and identity, and pedagogy. The article advocates for a less technocratic model of teaching and learning with DAWs in favour of an approach that cultivates a balance of aesthetic awareness and creativity.
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    Defining the Hourglass Framework of Technical and Musical Concepts in Music Technology Education with Two Case Studies in Course Development
    (Association for Technology in Music Instruction, 2022) Hsu, Timothy; Music and Arts Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    As the field of music technology connects music with a vast array of technical fields, a mature music technology program ideally challenges and develops students that incorporate musical contexts of technical ideas and the technical concepts of musical ideas. The educational challenge of music technology programs lies in the balancing of technical and musical material in the curriculum. In structuring this balance, this paper proposes an hourglass framework, where music technology sits at the neck of two sides, where one side is built on the tradition of Western and non-Western music history, theory, and repertoire, and the other side is constructed based on the development of engineering, computer science, design, physics, and other technical fields. This paper defines and discusses this hourglass framework, shows the curricular need, and presents two case studies of an undergraduate and a graduate course that employ balance through the hourglass framework. Through audio circuits, physics of sound, and acoustics synthesized with musical contexts, students discover and learn how technical concepts directly impact musical decisions, and vice versa. This paper discusses not only the methods employed by both classes, but also possible growth areas for continual improvement in exploring the intersection of technical and musical concepts.
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    Delay-Based Digital Audio Effects Module for DJs and Musicians
    (2018-12-01) Perr, Alexander; Goodman, David
    This module can manipulate audio signals, in real time, by modulating them in the time domain. This device is nicknamed “The Time Machine”. This device is meant for DJs and musicians who wish to be able to change characteristics about the music that they are playing during a live performance. This device allows the user to be able to change the playback speed of a song, such as slowing the song down and speeding it up. It allows the user to reverse the song. This device allows the user to perform momentary loops at various lengths for a stutter effect. This device can even change up the rhythm of a song by rearranging parts within a sequence. This device also lets the user perform vinyl effects, like what DJ’s do. This device lets the user be able to remix music on the fly and in real time. The device has a touch screen user interface and a set of 12 hardware push buttons. The user is able program each of the buttons using a touch screen interface. The user selects which button they want to program with the touch screen interface. They can then select from a list of 25 different delay-based audio effects to program to the button. This gives the user full customizability of the layout on the control board. The user can load all 12 buttons with different effects in any arrangement they choose. The user plugs their audio device into the input of the module with a 3.5 mm jack. They then plug in a speaker or headphones. There is a Tap Tempo on the GUI used to synchronize the effects to the tempo of any song. After the song is synchronized, the user can then perform combinations of delay-based audio effects to remix any song. The origins of this device came from a project for the Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Research Institution at IUPUI. I led a team of 3 other researchers where we were tasked with developing a digital audio effects module. During the research, we evaluated several different types of digital signal processors and devices to house our touch screen graphical user interface which was used in this project. I expanded on this project to add more functionality and customizability to the device. The inspiration for this project came from a VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugin called Gross Beat, from Image Line.
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    A Dynamic Representation Solution for Machine Learning-Aided Performance Technology
    (Frontiers, 2020-05) Palamara, Jason; Deal, W. Scott; Music and Arts Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
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    Towards an understanding of creativity in independent music production
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021) Walzer, Daniel; Music and Arts Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    For years, creativity has been a topic of interest for scholars in psychology, human development, and the arts. Research on creativity has produced a growing body of literature in the art and science of music production. Correspondingly, the entertainment sector has undergone what business and entrepreneurship scholars refer to as disintermediation or a reduction of skilled labor affecting the roles and responsibilities of those working in music production. Research on creativity with independent music production (IMP) is less common. Little is known about creativity by those without access to particular domains. As the music and recording industries remain untethered, an increase in autodidactic and incremental learning processes seems likely along with the growth of new models of independent music production. Using a Bourdieusian theoretical framework, the article analyzes two skill areas in IMP, experimentation, and critical listening, and calls for a more equitable and imaginative analysis of creativity.