Compositional Project Overview

Your composition should be a musical work of 3 minutes or more written in the SuperCollider platform.

Objectives:

• To produce an original, musical work of at least 3 minutes using SuperCollider.
• To create novel sounds/effects using digital audio tools provided by SuperCollider.
• To present publicly your work to the class.

Kinds of Pieces

SuperCollider is an instrument like a piano or flute. And like any instrument, it has things that it does well and things that it does not do well. Just as you would not ask a flute to play your bass line, there are things that you should avoid attempting in SuperCollider.

1. SuperCollider will not be able to recreate real instruments from scratch at least with the knowledge we have. There is a whole field of research devoted to creating synthetic, realistic-sounding instruments called physical modeling. Many of these experiments can do a decent job, but often times they still pale in comparison to real, live instruments.
2. Due to the previous point, do not use SuperCollider to try and recreate an orchestral score or emulate your favorite singer/guitarist indie songs. SuperCollider will not work well in genres that rely heavily on acoustic instruments like jazz. If you want to write a song like that, you need dedicated software used for recording like Logic or ProTools. Now, many genres blend synthesized music or can be recreated with an electronic flavor. That is perfectly fine.

What kinds of things should you do with SuperCollider:

1. SuperCollider is wonderful at generating synthetic instruments like those heard in electronica or synth-based music. Genres like rap and hip-hop also rely heavily on sample-based or synthetic music. All of that will work well in SC.
2. SuperCollider is good at manipulating audio using handmade effects that cannot be recreated in popular software. If you are a vocalist or an instrumentalist, you can use SuperCollider to manipulate your performance in realtime with a variety of different effects.

Below are several kinds of pieces one could write with SuperCollider that would work well. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Model 1: Just SuperCollider

Write a piece of music using SynthDefs and patterns that relies upon the various topics we have covered in this class. SuperCollider is great at writing music that has repetition and randomness because it is easy to write succinct algorithms accomplishing these goals. It would be difficult and incredibly tiring to recreate Beethoven’s 9th symphony for example with synthesizers because of all the notes that would be inputted. That’s why patterns are so powerful. You can capture the essence of a particular musical gesture with a pattern and repeat/vary it as much as you like.

Model 2: Live Instruments/Voice + SuperCollider

SuperCollider works well manipulating live audio in realtime. In this model, you can think of SuperCollider as a pedal board for a guitarist. The performer creates an audio signal, routes that information through SuperCollider, and manipulates that audio. For example, if you are a cellist, you could get a contact microphone to capture your sound and then run it through SuperCollider with distortion, massive reverberation, and mind-altering delays. SuperCollider can transform your instrument into something much different.

Model 3: Create an Installation

Installations are artworks that typically occupy a space and incorporate some other stimulation or outside media/knowledge. Installations are popular in the visual art world. In music, installations tend to be artistic works that do not rely on typical modes of listening. Many installations allow listeners to come and go as they please. Furthermore, the sound produced is generally not intended to be a “dramatic” unfolding where it is necessary to listen to all musical moments in silence from beginning to end as one would in a concert hall.

What might be an example of an installation? One could imagine taking climate data for instance and mapping that data onto musical sounds. SuperCollider can read the data and use synthesizers to “express” the contents of that data. Another example could be enhancing a space through ambient music. Music can enrich and recontextualize space. One could create a repetitive ambience for example to bring out the essence of a particular space.

Examples

Writing music is hard. Really hard. But it also incredibly exciting and rewarding. How does one go about writing music? It first starts with listening. What do you like about music? What sounds appeal to you? I suggest spending a good amount of time listening critically. When you hear a song that you like, what is going on with the drums or the bass or some of the less prominent instruments? Can you start to dissect the music you like to its constituent parts?

When you have an idea perhaps of what you might like to create, start by experimenting. Create a sound or two that you like. Think about how that sound could change over time. What else could go with those sounds? Experimentation often leads to a more concrete idea and likely a change from your original plan. That is perfectly okay.

If you need help, here are some audio examples of pieces written in SuperCollider to spur your creativity.

Model 1:

Yota Morimoto
Ryan Kirkbride
Andrew Davis

Model 2:

Eli Fieldsteel

Model 3:

Rachel D.W. Rome

There are also these two great tutorial series below that can be a good resource for hearing what else is possible in SuperCollider.

Sound Engraver
Eli Fieldsteel

Specific Criteria and Requirements

Your work should make use of the following digital signal processing techniques or SuperCollider paradigms:

• 2 or more minutes of music
• At least 6 SynthDefs. At least three, must be SynthDefs of your own creation. This is to encourage experimentation directed by your knowledge of synthesis and digital signal processing. The others may be taken from class examples or the internet provided they are cited with the source as a comment in the code.
• One of your SynthDefs must incorporate amplitude modulation or frequency modulation.
• At least five Pbind/Pbindef patterns to control the generation of musical events.
• A reverb unit made through comb filters and allpass filters.
• Busses to connect SynthDefs. In particular, you will want to instantiate only one or two reverb synths and route the output of your synths to the reverb unit. In other words, do not make a reverb unit every time you create a synth. The server will become overloaded.
• A .pdf document with clear and explicit instructions about how to perform your piece.

Optionally consider adding a GUI interface - this is especially important if you opted for Model 2. For most performers, it easiest to use a GUI to control parameters on different effects. If you feel that the criteria above hinders your musical vision, you should state so in your project proposal discussed below or discuss with Andy.

Phase 0: Project Proposal - DUE: Thursday, October 7 at 11:59PM

Submit a two to three paragraph proposal for a type of piece you would like to compose. In your proposal you should strive to answer the following questions:

1. What kind of piece will you be writing? What genre will your piece be? Please provide links to examples of similar music that perhaps could serve as a template for the kind of piece you will write. Remember that SuperCollider will work best for creating electronic music. Trying to write something like a funk song or a rock song will not work well in this environment.

2. Describe in general how you plan to implement your piece. What kind of UGens do you anticipate using?

3. How do you plan to satisfy the criteria above?

4. Will you be working with a partner?

One final note: writing a piece of music is a complicated and unpredictable journey. You need not stick to the project proposal. Many times the discovery of some musical fragment spurs new ideas and new directions. Listen to your musical ear! It is okay if your final submission doesn’t match your proposal. The purpose of the proposal is to get you thinking about what you would like to compose.

Deliverables: A .pdf file of your proposal submitted on Gradescope

Phase 1: Initial Ideas - DUE: Thursday, November 18 at 11:59PM

In your first milestone, you should focus on developing a sound palette that you like. Come up with several synths that produce sounds you like. If you plan to incorporate outside audio like drum samples, guitar loops, sound effects, spend some time searching and finding them. Using your synths and/or audio files, come up with several patterns to play those elements back. Your goal is to come up with 30 seconds of music you like.

Ultimately, this music may not be part of your final product. But that is okay. Composition requires a lot of trial and error, especially if this is the first time you have done it.

Getting Help: In music composition, it is helpful to get feedback on your ideas. Many times you can be so caught up in the details of a piece that it is hard to hear the bigger picture. For that reason, Andy is available during office hours to give you constructive feedback. In music, we would call this a composition lesson. A lesson can offer ideas about different directions, help with coding, or simply get the perspective from a fresh set of ears.

Requirements:

• At least four SynthDefs for sound creation (i.e., not effects).
• Two Pbind/Pbindef patterns playing your SynthDefs in the way you intend to use them.
• 30 seconds of music as a .wav file. You can use s.record and s.stopRecording to record the audio output of SuperCollider.

Deliverables: Please submit a .zip file to Gradescope containing the following documents.

• A .scd file of your SuperCollider sounds/patterns
• Optionally, other audio files/samples you plan to use in your work. For example, these could be things like drum samples.
• A .pdf file explaining the work you have done so far and the direction you plan to take the piece.
• A .wav file of at least 30 seconds of music

Phase 2: Rough Draft - DUE: Monday, December 6 at 11:59PM

The main goal is to get a rough draft of your piece. By now, your piece should be close to its final form. No large scale changes should happen between now and the final submission. It is strongly advised to meet with Andy to provide some suggestions before submitting your rough draft.

Requirements:

• At least six SynthDefs. All SynthDefs should be used in your draft either in pattern or scheduled on a clock.
• At least five Pbind/Pbindef patterns playing your SynthDefs in the way you intend to use them.
• At least two minutes of music as a .wav file. You can use s.record and s.stopRecording to record the audio output of SuperCollider.

Deliverables: Please submit a .zip file to Gradescope containing the following documents.

• A .scd file of your SuperCollider sounds/patterns
• Optionally, other audio files/samples you plan to use in your work. For example, these could be things like drum samples.
• A .pdf file explaining the work you have done so far and the direction you plan to take with the remainder of the piece.
• A .wav file of at least two minutes of music

Phase 3: Final Submission - DUE: at 9:30AM

Please review the overall guidelines for the project at the top of this description. Ensure that your code is well-organized and documented appropriately with comments.

Deliverables: Please submit a .zip file to Andy BY EMAIL containing the following elements.

• A .scd file of your SuperCollider piece and potentially other audio files used in SuperCollider. You must include all relevant files so I can run your project successfully on my own system.
• A .pdf file explaining your aesthetic goals, whether you achieved them or perhaps whether they changed as you worked on the piece. Discuss what you learned about the composition process. Please also include a description of how to perform the piece. You may also comment your code effectively to demonstrate how to play your piece as well.
• A .wav file of your piece.

Phase 4: Project Presentations - Wednesday, December 15 9:30AM - 12:00PM

Discussion of the project presentation on the previous page.