UMass Lowell Dept. of Computer Science
COMP 2120 / MUED 2120 — Sound Thinking
Spring 2016 Semester, Section 201
Prof. Jesse M. Heines and Prof. Gena Greher
Notes for Class No. 2
Creating Instruments with the MaKey MaKey Board
Thursday, January 21, 2016
A video of this class is (or will be) posted at:
http://echo360.uml.edu/heines2016/comp-mued2120.html
All students are requested to please bring
their laptops for the class activity today!
Handouts and Materials
Openings / Announcements / Reminders
Things that were to be done before today’s class
(1) Read the Course Syllabus carefully
(2) Complete your registration for this class using the Google form posted at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/166cx_uRhYJ24qoI-zMrs1dpWVyOw5iloQ-ojjF41lv4/viewform
- as of 9:00 PM on Wednesday evening, 13 of you had done this
- if you have not yet done this, please do so as soon as you read this
(3) Join the class discussion forum at http://piazza.com/uml/spring2016/comp2120mued2120
- as of 9:00 PM on Wednesday evening, 18 of you had done this
- Michael Nickerson: please go online and change the name you registered with to your full first and last names
Class Notes
Discussion of Administrative Info — Questions?
The following information is essentially the same as that for our last class, but it’s repeated here to prime questions
By now you should have read the course syllabus carefully
- it contains a great deal of very important information
- we will review this information in greater detail in our next class
Look over the course website home page at http://soundthinking.uml.edu
Join the class forum at http://piazza.com/uml/spring2016/comp2120mued2120
Course Sections: COMP 2120 vs. MUED 2120
- implications for GenEd credit
- correcting your course section
Grading: the assignments you hand in will account for 100% of your grade
- at this time we are not planning any exams in this course
Attendance is critical
- we do a lot of spontaneous things in class
- we never know exactly how these things are going to turn out!
- class discussions are vital to understanding the concepts and exploring
their implications
- we expect everyone to participate in discussions, regardless of how
shy you may be
- “there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers”
- attendance will be taken in each class and your attendance percentage will be counted as a regular assignment
grade
Contact us for help via e-mail or phone or by stopping in
- see the course syllabus for our phone numbers and office hours
- note that Jesse has given you his home phone number and Dan has given you his cell phone number
- if you need help with computer assignments you may call any day, including weekends, until 10:00 PM
- Jesse has office hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Olsen Hall on North campus
- Gena’s office hours are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Durgin Hall on South campus
- note that Jesse also posts his public appointment calendar at http://teaching.cs.uml.edu/calendar
When e-mailing us:
- note that the university uses extensive filters on incoming e-mail to auto-delete
junk mail and pornography
- therefore, your e-mail must have a proper subject header or it
may get deleted before we even see it
- be sure to start that subject header with our course number:
91.212 or MUED 2120
- always e-mail both of us unless you know that the issue is specific to one of us
- we really do teach this course together, and both of us are responsible for everything in the course
Please give us the e-mail address you *really* use
The URL for our course website is http://soundthinking.uml.edu
- this page will redirect to
- please report any aspects of the course website that do not work to Jesse
- the course website provides an index with links to:
- contact information for us, including Jesse’s home phone number for help with computer problems
We have set up a Piazza class discussion forum at http://piazza.com/uml/spring2016/comp2120mued2120 for you to ask questions of us and your classmates
- please go to that site and create an account for yourself using your full first and last names
- the login page is at https://piazza.com/signup
- this is the easiest and quickest way to get a question answered, either by one of us or by a fellow student
- by posting questions there, everyone will see the question and answer
- other students may answer it before we can!
- note that while you must have an account to use this site, you can post questions anonymously
- if you e-mail a technical question to us directly, we will most
likely repost it to the forum with our answer
- of course we won’t do this if your question is about something
personal
- if you don’t want us to repost your question to the forum, be sure
to tell us so in your e-mail
Bring your laptops to class
- most classes will include lab sessions where we will help each other
- you are welcome to have your laptop open during class
Introduction to the Topics We’re Planning for This Semester
The easiest way to get a feel for the types of things we will be doing this semester is to look at the list of assignments we are planning. We provide a little more information on these below.
Please Note: The topics below are our current thoughts as we begin the semester. Things invariably change as the semester develops. We thank you for your understanding and your willingness to travel this interdisciplinary journey with us.
Expanding the Concept of Music
- creating an instrument from conductive materials
- creating a composition for that instrument
- creating a notational system for that composition
- creating a visual representation so that someone else can play
- playing someone else’s instrument
Analyzing Sound and Music (listening for form) — 2 assignments
- breaking sounds (or songs) down into their components
- creating musical flowcharts
- using Audacity to rearrange sounds
- creating mash-ups focusing on form and repetition
Fixed Sequencing (using Scratch and/or Pencil Code)
- creating a new piece by playing sound files sequenced by a computer
- exploring looping and “broadcasting”
Interactive Sequencing (using Scratch and/or Pencil Code)
- controlling the sequence interactively
- “triggers” and their ramifications
Music Programming (using Scratch)
- playing MIDI notes and drums
- creating your own melodies and rhythms
- creating a composition of 2nds and 5ths and their inversions
- using Scratch programming structures
- transposing music: key, instrument, and voice
- playing — and synchronizing — multiple parts simultaneously
Final Performance
Explanatory Video
Sections
- Part 1 – Design and implement your own “instrument.”
- Part 2 – Create a composition for your “instrument.”
- Part 3 – Devise a system of notation for your composition.
- Part 4 – Write a reflection on your experience.
- Part 5 – Present your “instrument” to the class and perform your composition.
MaKey MaKey Videos to Prime Your Imagination
- MaKey MaKey – An Invention Kit for Everyone
- Musical Paintings with MaKey MaKey
- MaKey MaKey Music Examples
- Remixing Sir Duke with MaKey MaKey
- Conductive Fiber with MaKey MaKey
- MaKey MaKey Instruments
- The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra
- Experimental Notation
- Junkestra
Videos of some of last year’s submissions for Assignment No. 1
Just Enough Scratch to do Assignment No. 1
The Scratch website at http://scratch.mit.edu
Working with blocks
Sound blocks
- playing MP3s
- playing notes
Starter Project
