Technosonic: How Technology Transforms Music

Course Description

How will innovations of the past open future pathways for performers and composers? This course probes the results and unexpected resonances of transformative technologies such as electrically amplified sound, magnetic tape, digital audio, and social media. Readings and seminar discussion topics include how the microphone transformed singing; the origins and role of artificial reverberation; phonomanipulation and tape editing; drum machines and sampling; the resurgence of analog devices (record players, modular synthesizers, vintage guitar pedals, etc.); and streaming audio. Technology continues to shape how music is recorded, performed, and released into the world, so we will explore many genres and exemplars including multi-microphone perspectives of Beethoven symphonies; early field recordings; musique concrète; popular and ambient music; lowercase sound; and generative music rooted in Artificial Intelligence. Prerequisite(s): Graduate students must meet musicology seminar proficiency requirements in order to enroll in this course.;Undergraduates need to have successfully completed 2 of the following courses. History of Music 1, History of Music 2, History of Music 3, Music Histories in a Global Context.

Code

PY.610.602

Credits

3

Subject

Musicology