This seminar introduces students to critical thinking and a discussion of values, and develops oral and written communication skills, through an investigation of electroacoustic which includes acousmatic, computer music, algorithmic composition, tape music, glitch, circuit bending, electronic, musique concrete, noise, laptop performance, DJ culture, and organized sound. This course will provide a historical survey of electroacoustic and discuss some of the most salient questions associated with it, from both a compositional and musicological point of view. Topics up for discussion include: What is music? What is electronic music? Possible definitions of musical sound and musical instruments; musique concrete and other pioneering ideas: what makes them innovative and ahead of their time; analysis of tape music and computer music in the United States versus that in the world; analysis of electroacoustic compositions; how to convey ideas through sound; sampling and intellectual property; algorithmic and computer-aided composition: structures and forms; live versus studio compositions.
Louis Yu will be your classroom instructor. For more information on my availability, please see the contact information page.
All course materials will be available on the course website and on Moodle (http://moodle.gac.edu/). The URL for the course is http://homepages.gac.edu/~lyu/teaching/fts100-f24/.
Our textbook is Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture by Thom Holmes. There are a five editions of this textbook, I recommend that you get the latest one (the sixth edition). You should order a copy in advance either through the Book Mark (Sling Shot) or through another seller of your choice. the Book Mark cannot be counted on to have a copy on the shelf if you don't pre-order.
You mainly need this textbook during 11/4 to 11/20 in the semester, as you are expected to read assigned chapters and present it to the class. For details regarding the task and the presentation schedule, please refer to the course schedule and project 3 description.
During that time, you are also expected to read relevant Chapters specified in the schedule before each lecture, as the lectures are meant to supplement your reading (note that the lectures are NOT substitutes for reading). Your ability to contribute to the discussion after each chapter is presented will affect your overall participation grade.
Attendance, both physical and mental, is required. In fact, it is worth 10% of your final percentage in the course. It is especially important for you to attend and participate in lectures (and labs) this semester. I will be recording attendance at the start of each lecture. Everyone will start with 5 points of attendance grade at the beginning of the semester (attendance is worth 5% of the final grade). During the semester, one point will be deducted if you miss either a lecture or a lab session. You are allowed 5 "free points" during the semester. You may use those "free points" for sick days, or simply "I am feeling overwhelmed and need a mental health day" (as mental wellbeing is important). If you have influenza-like symptoms (temperature over 100 with headaches, sore throat, or cough), please call Health Service. If they say that you stay home, you should do so, and use one of your "free points".
If you foresee yourself needing more "free points" (for example, if you have an on-going health issue that you see may affect your attendence during the semester), you need to discuss that with me asap, and I have the right to accept or reject your requests based on the circumstances.
If you show up more than 10 minutes late (and miss the period in which you are to record your own attendance) to a lecture, I will make a note of it, and each case will result in one point deduction. If you forgot to record your attendance at the start of a lecture or a lab, I am not responsible to record your attendance for you (you would then need to use one of your "free points" and make sure to record your attendance next time).
Should you need to miss a class for any reason, you are still responsible for the material covered. This means you need to make sure that you understand the reading from that day; you should ask another student for the notes from that day, and you should make sure that you understand what was covered.
If there is written work due that day, you should be sure to (somehow) submit it on time (thus, do not leave your projects to the last minute). If you missed a presentation (oral or formal), you will receive zero on the corresponding part of the project unless you had communicated with me (via email exchanges or in person) prior.
Finally, you may use your laptop in class. However, the use of the computer is restricted to activities deemed appropriate by the instructor. Playing games, watching YouTube, reading e-mail, checking Facebook, and working on assignments for other courses are a few examples of inappropriate activities that can be distracting to the instructor and to other students in the course. Any repeat instances from an individual of such will result in a deduction in your participation grade.
The exercises are graded as check points.
If you miss an in-class exercise, there will not be any make-up. You will receive zero for the corresponding exercise unless you had communicated with me (via email exchanges or in person) prior.
Sometimes I will ask you to come see me at a particular time and date. If you miss an arranged individual advising session without contacting me prior, you will receive a 1% deduction on your participation grade.
For this course, you will need to complete 6 projects (project 2 and project 5 have the same description). In each case, I will indicate what I expect of you. A project submission that meets those expectation is due before the start of class on the date specified. For some projects, you will also need to give an oral (informal) or formal presentations.
If you made a submission late, you will receive 10% deduction on your corresponding project grade per day late.
If you are too sick to complete a project on time, you will not be penalized. However, you need to talk to me or email me as soon as possible, and provide the necessary doctor's note. Other circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In general, you should talk to me or email me (asap) around the time of the incident.
We will spend some lecture time to work on projects. However, you will often need to spend additional time on the projects
outside of class.
As mentioned before, if you missed a presentation (oral or formal), you will receive zero on the corresponding part of the project unless you had communicated with me (via email exchanges or in person) prior.
You will earn up to 100 final grade points, divided as follows. Project 1 is worth 10 points; project 2 and project 3 are both worth 15 points. The final project (project 4) is worth 28 points. Class attendance is worth 8 points. Class participation is worth 8 points, advising homework is worth 8 points, and attendance for individual advising is worth 8 points.
Your course letter grade will be recorded as follows:
| A: 94 - 100 | B+: 87 - 89 | C+: 77 - 79 | D+: 67 - 69 | F: 0-59 |
| A-: 90 - 93 | B: 83 - 86 | C: 73 - 76 | D: 63 - 66 | |
| B-: 80 - 82 | C-: 70 - 72 | D-: 60 - 62 |
Please point out any arithmetic or clerical errors I have made in grading and I will gladly fix it. You may also request reconsideration if you feel I have been especially unjust. The best way to do so is to discuss it during one of our individual advising meetings.
Finally, this semester we are using Moodle (http://moodle.gac.edu/) to keep track of your scores. The pro of doing so is that you know your score for each component as soon as it is graded. This will give you a pretty good idea of your standing as the semester progress.
Any substantive contribution to your project by another person or direct quotations from a website, an article or a publication should be properly acknowledged in writing (by citing the source). Failure to do so is plagiarism and will necessitate disciplinary action.
As a student at Gustavus you are expected to uphold the Honor Code and abide by the Academic Honesty Policy. A copy of the honor code can be found in the Academic Bulletin and a copy of the academic honesty policy can be found in the Academic Polices section of the Gustavus Guide.