Music Technology Seminar (MUMT-605)
Fall 2023 (Tuesdays, 4:35 P.M. – 7:25 P.M., Montréal time)
Elizabeth Wirth Music Building, 555 Sherbrooke West, 5th
Floor, Room A-512
Address: http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~depalle/MUMT605.html
Version: 1.0 (Version history)
Last update: 09/04/2023
Name: Philippe Depalle
E-mail: philippe.depalle@mcgill.ca
Phone: (514) 398-4535 # 00317
Office: 550 Sherbrooke West, 5th Floor, Suite 500, Room 503
Office Hours: upon request, by appointment
Most digital sound synthesis methods and audio processing techniques are based on spectral representations of sound signals. This seminar starts with a theoretical and practical study of spectral representation, spectral analysis, and spectral modification of sound signals. Digital sound synthesis and sound processing techniques are then presented as specific spectral modelling or alterations from which their capabilities, properties, and limitations are deduced. Techniques explored in this context include the phase-vocoder, additive synthesis, source-filter synthesis, and audio effects. Available computer music software and ad hoc pieces of software are used as examples and illustrations. Evaluation will be based on 2 assignments (25% each), one in-class presentation (15%), and a final project (35%).
The final mark will be derived as follows:
|
Date |
Week |
Class |
Subject |
Evaluation
|
|
09/05/2023 |
36 |
01 |
|
|
|
09/12/2023 |
37 |
02 |
|
|
|
09/19/2023 |
38 |
03 |
Assignment 1 |
|
|
09/26/2023 |
39 |
04 |
|
|
|
10/03/2023 |
40 |
05 |
|
|
|
10/10/2023 |
41 |
|
Study Break |
|
|
10/17/2023 |
42 |
06 |
||
|
10/24/2023 |
43 |
07 |
Assignment 1 |
|
|
10/31/2023 |
44 |
08 |
Assignment 2 Given |
|
|
11/07/2023 |
45 |
09 |
||
|
11/14/2023 |
46 |
10 |
||
|
11/21/2023 |
47 |
11 |
||
|
11/28/2023 |
48 |
12 |
Assignment 2 Final Project |
|
|
12/18/2023 |
51 |
13 |
In-class presentation |
Final Project Due |
Computer/KP Lab (in case you don’t have access to a research lab):
Strathcona Music Building, 555 Sherbrooke West, 2nd Floor, Room E-215.
Check this address for availability: Music Faculty - Room E-215
Moore, E. R., Elements of Computer Music, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990.
Zölzer, U., DAFx: Digital Audio Effects, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 2nd edition, 2011. Available in electronic version at the McGill library: Wiley - onlinelibrary.
MAX/MSP version 8.5.5: On-line documentation available at Max_8_doc.
MAX/MSP version 4, pdf files available at Max/MSP_4.6.2_Documentation:
MSP46ReferenceManual.pdf, Reference Manual, version 4.7, Cycling '74, August 2006, 477 pages.
MSP46TutorialsAndTopics.pdf, Tutorials and Topics, version 4.6, Cycling '74, August 2006, 246 pages.
Max46Fundamentals.pdf, Fundamentals, version 4.6, Cycling '74, August 2006, 88 pages.
Max46Topics.pdf, Max Topics, version 4.6, Cycling '74, August 2006, 152 pages.
Max46Tutorials.pdf, Tutorial, version 4.6, Cycling '74, August 2006, 367 pages.
Max46ReferenceManual.pdf, Reference Manual, version 4.6, Cycling '74, August 2006, 724 pages.
McClellan J. H., R. W. Schafer, and M. A. Yoder, DSP First, Pearson Education Inc., 2nd edition, 562 pages, 2016.
Orfanidis, Sophocles, Introduction to Signal Processing, Rutgers University, 2023, 1540 pages. 2nd edition, Freely available as a pdf at: http://eceweb1.rutgers.edu/~orfanidi/intro2sp/.
Selection of useful Matlab documentations (pdf files available as downloadable files through
the Matlab doc window):
learn_matlab.pdf, Matlab - Primer, version R2021a, 164 pages, 2021.
matlab_env.pdf, Matlab - Desktop Tools and Development Environment, version R2021a, 268 pages, 2021.
matlab_math.pdf, Matlab - Mathematics, version R2021a, 702 pages, 2021.
matlab_prog.pdf, Matlab - Programming Fundamentals, version R2021a, 1404 pages, 2021.
matlab_ref.pdf, Matlab - Function Reference, version R2021a, 15770 pages, 2021.
creating_plots.pdf, Matlab - Graphics, version R2021a, 722 pages, 2021.
signal_gs.pdf, Signal Processing Toolbox - Getting Started Guide, version R2021a, 52 pages, 2021.
signal.pdf, Signal Processing Toolbox - User’s Guide, version R2021a, 1404 pages, 2021.
Signal_ref.pdf, Signal Processing Toolbox - Reference, version R2021a, 2742 pages, 2021.
Content: Goal and motivations (sound synthesis: modelling, synthesis, analysis, & control). Signal and information (signal as an information carrier, signal processing, signal processing and computer music). Signal representation (introduction, temporal representation: definition, continuous-time signals, discrete-time signals, digitisation of signals, reconstruction of signals).
Max/MSP: Review of the structure, typology of objects, signal processing algorithms’ design constraints (real-time, data-flow).
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter I. Chapter II, pages 27-46, Appendix A, pages 455-458. Appendix B).
Content: Spectral Representation of Analog Signals. Angle, Trigonometric Functions, and Complex Numbers (Cartesian Coordinates, Polar Coordinates, Complex Numbers). Amplification and Phase Shift. Mean Value of a Cosine Wave. Complex Modulation and Fourier Transform. Spectrum of a Cosine Wave. Fourier Series (Cosine Spectrum, Sine Spectrum, Even and Odd Functions Spectra, Periodic Signal Spectrum, Examples). Non-periodic Signal Spectrum (Introduction, Fourier Transform, Examples). Convolution.
Max/MSP: atan~, atan2~, cartopol~, click~, cos~, cosx~, phasor~, poltocar~, sinx~, sqrt~, train~, trapezoid~, triangle~.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter II, pages 55-64 & 69-72, Appendix A, pages 458-464).
Content: Link between the Spectrum of a Signal and its Periodized Version. Finite-Duration Spectral Analysis (Introduction, Rectangular Windowing, Fourier Series Decomposition). Impact of Sampling on Analog Signals Spectra (Introduction, Spectral Duplication, Spectral Aliasing, Discrete-Time Fourier Transform). Spectral Analysis of Discrete-Time Signals.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter II, pages 64-88).
Content: Introduction, Finite-Duration Spectral Analysis, Frequency Resolution, Dynamic Resolution, Smoothing Windows (Introduction, Generic shape of a smoothing window, Main features of a window: Main Lobe Bandwidth, Highest Side Lobe Level, Side Lobe Fall-Off, Worst-Case Processing Loss, Main windows: Rectangular, Triangular, Hann, Hamming, Blackman-Harris 3, Blackman-Harris 4), Examples, Window size choice, Time-Frequency Uncertainty, Zero-padding, Fast Fourier Transform and Spectral Analysis).
Max/MSP: buffer~, cartopol~, fft~, ifft~, log~, peek~, play~, poltocar~.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter II, pages 93-104).
Content: Introduction. Short-time Fourier representation (introduction, definition, Fourier transform interpretation, filter bank interpretation). STFT analysis (introduction, temporal sampling, spectral sampling). STFT synthesis (filter bank summation, overlap-add method). STFT processing (filtering, time-varying linear systems.)
Reading Guidelines Elements of Computer Music (Chapter III, pages 229-246).
Content: Introduction. Instantaneous frequency, time scaling, pitch scaling, cross-synthesis, examples (convolution, cross-over filter, spectral noise-gate, pitch-scaling).
Max/MSP: capture~, cartopol~, fft~, fftin~, fftinfo~, fftout~, frameaccum~, framedelta~, ifft~, pfft~, phasewrap~, poltcoar~.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter III, pages 227-229 & 246-263).
Content: Introduction. Model (synthesis model, Link between additive synthesis, and Fourier transform). Additive analysis (spectral peak parameter extraction, partial trajectory extraction). Additive synthesis implementation (introduction, look-up table, overlap and add method, phase interpolation method).
Max/MSP: cos~, cosx~, cycle~, ioscbank~, oscbank~, sinx~.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter II, pages 27-46. Chapter III, pages 159-173 & 207-227).
Content: Introduction. Generic model. Link with physical description of musical instruments. Link with short-time Fourier transform. Filter structures (all-pole structure, bank of second order IIR filters, Cascade of second order IIR Filters). Source structures (harmonic, noisy, short-time sources).
Max/MSP: biquad~, buffer~, buffir~, fffb~, reson~, tapin~, tapout~, waveform~, zerox~, filtergraph, lores~, onepole~, teeth~.
Reading Guidelines: Elements of Computer Music (Chapter II, pages 88-93. Chapter III, pages 152-156, 263-271, 273-278 & 291-294).
1.0 – September 4th, 2023
Original version
1) Right to submit in English or French written work that is to be graded [approved by Senate on 21 January 2009]:
In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.
This right applies to all written work that is to be graded, from one-word answers to dissertations.
This statement is not needed for courses in which acquiring proficiency in a language is one of the objectives or for courses in which students do not submit written work that is to be graded.
Instructors who cannot grade French written work should consult their Chair/Director or Dean, in faculties without departments, to make arrangements for grading French submissions.
2) Academic Integrity statement [approved by Senate on 29 January 2003]:
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ ) for more information).
You may use this FRENCH TRANSLATION of the Academic Integrity statement on your course outlines as you see fit:
L'université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le code de conduite de l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le site http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ ).
N.B. Failure by an instructor to include a statement about academic integrity on a course outline shall not constitute an excuse by a student for violating the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures [Senate, 29 January 2003].