Assignment 1
Due: 17 September
Submission: The assignment shall be delivered in Fronter, as one zip-file.
Part 1: Based on the patches we built in class, create a PD patch with the following content:
- 1 fundamental frequency and 6 harmonic overtones, each with a beating tone
- Envelope control (line object)
- Amplitude control
The patch should be submitted as a .pd file.
Part 2: Make 5 different spectrograms of the same sound (this can be any sound file you find interesting!) in Sonic Visualiser, where you explore the following:
- Different analysis window sizes and overlap
- Linear and logarithmic scales
- Bin types
Export image files from Sonic Visualiser, and place them into a document. Write down which settings you used for the different spectrograms, and comment briefly on what you see and how it relates to the sound you hear.
Assignment 2
Due: 14 October
Submission: The assignment shall be delivered in Fronter, as one PDF file.
Write 2 page report:
- Describe your instrument
- Record minimum 3 short sounds (low - mid - high register)
- Describe the 3 recorded sounds with words
- Create spectrograms of the sounds and comment on what they show
Assignment 3
Due: 4 November
Submission: The assignment shall be delivered in Fronter, as one PDF file.
Write a short text (max. 2 pages) describing the main differences between these sound synthesis techniques:
- Additive synthesis
- Subtractive synthesis (filtering)
- Modulation synthesis (amplitude & frequency modulation)
- Physical modelling
- Granular synthesis
It may be useful to play with the patches from lecture 7 to get a more thorough understanding of these techniques.
Assignment 4
Due: 18 November
Submission: The report shall be delivered in Fronter, as one PDF file.
This assignment should be done during the regular lecture time 11 November. Split into groups of ~4 people, and go to the following places on campus:
- The hallway in front of Salen, ZEB-building
- The bridge over the tracks at Blindern metro station
- The foyer of the University Library
- Inside the Frederikke cafeteria
- Middle of the square outside of Frederikke
For each of the locations, write down your own experience, then discuss with the others. Do you agree with the others? Why, why not? Use these 4 categories as a starting point:
- Acoustics: what are the sounds?
- Psychoacoustics: how are they perceived?
- Semantics: what do they mean?
- Aesthetics: are they pleasant?
It would be good if you could bring a camera, sound recorder, video camera to document the location and what you hear.